Megamon
by BluesNavi
Summary: Something's gone horribly wrong in the cyberworld. Megaman's been turned into a Vaporeon! Follow our blue hero as he attempts to set things right!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Confusion

A pair of liquid black eyes reluctantly opened. The immediately snapped shut again after contact with the bright light, then inched open once more. The creature moaned. He felt drained, exhausted... And confused. He lay upon thick grass, and as he lifted his head, he could see a lake in front of him.

_Okay, this is wrong..._ he thought, watching as a breeze stirred the surface of the water and shifted the position of a lone cloud overhead. A shout from behind caused him to jump.

"Hey, Megaman!"

He looked around. A brunette boy with chocolate colored eyes and a blue bandana tied round his head stood there, smiling as he said, "I'm right here."

"Lan! Lan, thank goodness! Something weird is going on. It looks like the human world, and there's no dimensional area... And it's not some weird place on the net, cause you're here..." cried Megaman, leaping up. Lan had a confused look on his face.

"Uh... Megaman? Are you feeling okay?" he asked, sounding a little timid.

"Lan, listen to me! I'm talking to you right now! Pay attention!" said megaman, angry at the fact that Lan hadn't grasped his words. Lan stared blankly at him for a minute before speaking again.

"Did I wake you up? Sorry, I didn't know you'd be all cranky."

"I'm not cranky, just confused. Lan, I don't know what's going...hang on..." Megaman paused. "You can't understand me, can you...?" He uttered a few random words, and Lan, as expected, looked just as clueless as before.

"Feeling better now?" Lan asked gently, after a few moments of silence.

Nope. Just a whole lot worse..." Megaman thought, face falling into a look of hopelessness. Lan knelt beside him and reached out a hand to stroke Megaman's head. All at once, the netnavi realized how tall the boy seemed at the moment. And the fact that no helmet seemed to cover his head. He lifted a hand toward his head and caught sight of it out of the corner of his eye. It was a paw. A bright blue paw.

As fear gripped him, he fled from Lan's touch and scrambled over to the lake. Peering into the water, he began to hyperventilate. He was now a strange four-legged blue creature with fins on its head and a ruff around its neck. a glance behind showed a frill down his spine and a fishlike tail. This was almost enough to make him faint. The only thing that even slightly showed what he had been was a medallion hanging from a leather cord around his neck, with his own symbol on it.

"Hey, I Know what's wrong! We've been in one place for too long, right?" said Lan, following. Megaman stared at him, eye twitching. _I'__ve been turned into a finned freak and you think we should take a walk_?! he thought.

"Come on, let's go home. Mom will be happy to see us," said Lan, digging in his pocket for something. Megaman immediately perked up. Perhaps Dr. Hikari would know what was going on! Lan seemed to find what he was looking for and pulled it out. It was a red and white ball that fit in the palm of his hand.

_Huh? What's he planning to do with that?_ Megaman thought, eyeing it critically.

"All right, Megaman! Return!" said Lan, holding it out. Without warning, the ball opened. Megaman felt a wind tug at his body... A second later, there was a click as he found himself shut inside it.

"Wha... Lan! Lan, what did you do?!" he screamed. He twisted his head around in the confined space, feeling utterly helpless. _This isn't a PET, and it's not related at all to the internet.... What on earth is this thing?!_

"YOu want out now? Okay then..." said Lan, watching the wriggling poke-ball he held. It opened again, and Megaman appeared on the grass, panting. "That's weird. Usually you're okay with poke-balls. Maybe Dad and the professor can figure out what's wrong..." said Lan.

An image of Dr. Wily towering over a burning city while wearing a lab-coat and laughing his head off popped into Megaman's mind, making him feel apprehensive.

"Oh well, let's go. The sooner we start walking, the sooner we get to Pallet Town!" said Lan, smiling.

_Pallet...what?_

Lan walked away, whistling tunelessly. Megaman hesitated, then trailed behind him, unsure of what else he could do in this situation.

Several hours later found the two walking down a sidewalk in a small town. People walked on either side, and Megaman stayed close to Lan, his side brushing against the boy's leg. A quick look around showed normal people, though most were carrying strange creatures of many shapes and sizes.

"Ah, home sweet home! I can't wait to see Mom and Dad!" said Lan ,smiling widely.

_Home? You've gotta be kidding me. This doesn't look at all like DenTech City._ thought Megaman. A voice rang out.

"Lan! Megaman!"

"Mom! It's you!" cried Lan. He spun around and was immediately caught in his mother's embrace.

"Oh, Lan! You've been gone too long!" she said.

"We missed you too, Mom," Lan laughed, hugging her too. Megaman turned his attention away from the two to observe the street they were on.

_Yep, this definitely isn't DenTech. But strangely...that's our house... _

They entered that house in a matter of minutes. Mrs. Hikari made Lan some food, which he ate with gusto. A bowl filled with some odd brown stuff had been placed in front of Megaman, though he ignored it.

After a while, Lan lay on his stomach, quietly flipping through a book titled 'The Elite Four: A Look at the competition at Indigo Plateau.' Megaman was curled up next to his side, silent for the moment. In truth, he was thinking hard.

_Okay, think, Megaman. What the last thing you remember...I...was with Trill...we were about to be attacked...right? And if this happened to me, did it happen to the others too? Trill...Protoman...Roll...and the other NetOps? I don't understand what's going on, but I do know something's not right..._ He stood and leaped to the open window. He poked his head out and screamed, "TRILL! PROTOMAN! ROLL! CHAUD! MAYLU! SOMEBODY!" Lan looked up from his book, evidently surprised.

"Megaman, what's wrong with you today?" he asked. Megaman couldn't think of anything to say (not that it would've made a difference). "Okay, now I'm really worried about you. Come on, let's go see Dad now," said Lan, setting down the book and standing up.

_D-Dr. Hikari and the..._"PROFESSOR!!!" Megaman immediately lost his head, tearing around the room and letting out a long, loud wail. Lan managed to catch him around the abdomen and dragged him downstairs. His mother looked up, surprised at this.

"Bye Mom. I've gotta take Megaman to see Dad. He's been acting really weird," said Lan, struggling to keep a hold on the thrashing vaporeon he held. He managed to get Megaman out the door and down the road. They stopped at a large building outside of town, and lan shifted Megaman so he could knock at the door. It opened immediately, revealing a grey haired man wearing a lab-coat.

"Ah, hello there, Lan. Your father's out in the back with Tracy," he said.

_Tracy? Good lord, that must be the crazy professor's name!_

"Okay. But could you have a look at Megaman?" said Lan.

"Sure thing. What's wrong with him?" said the man, stepping aside so Lan could come in. The boy did, saying, "HE's all cranky, he won't stay in his poke-ball. It's almost like he's a completely different pokemon..."

_Poke...what?_

"Hmm...Maylu's Espeon had the same problem.. I'm not too sure what this is, Lan," said the man, leaning close and carefully examining Megaman.

"Maylu...?" said Lan. Megaman looked up, overjoyed.

_Yes! He remembers her! That must mean he remembers Roll too!_

"Maylu? You mean that ugly snobby girl who lives a few blocks down from us?" said lan. Megaman felt like the world had shattered around him.

"Lan! Why would you say that about such a sweet little girl?" said the man, obviously shocked.

"She insults megaman and me all the time, and she treats us like dirt!" said Lan, looking upset.

_What? the real Maylu would never do that!_ thought Megaman, staring wide-eyed at his NetOp.

"Who're you two talking about?" said another boy, walking in.

"Oh, hi, Tracy," said Lan, brightening up.

"Never mind us, Tracy. How is Venasaur doing?" said the man.

"It's recovering nicely, Professor Oak. It'll be in top shape when its trainer gets back," said 'Tracy.'

"Lan! You're back!" said Dr. Hikari, following Tracy into the room.

"Hi, Dad!" said Lan.

"We weren't expecting you until next week, at least!"

"Yeah, well, Megaman and I missed you."

"Yuuichiro. Megaman is acting just like Maylu's Espeon," said professor Oak.

"That's not good. Son, are you sure this is the right Vaporeon?" said Dr. Hikari.

"Dad! I'd know Megaman anywhere! Of course it's him!" said Lan.

_Vaporeon? Is that what I am now? _Megaman thought dimly, watching the conversation in silence.

"I'm just saying. That one time you went to that school party, you came back with the wrong Eevee," said the doctor.

"But this is Megaman! See? He's got the charm I gave him!" Lan protested, pointing at the object hanging from Megaman's neck.

"Hmmm... Did he bump his head during training or something?" said Dr. Hikari.

"No," said Lan.

"There goes my 'amnesia' theory..." said Professor Oak.

"Amnesia would fit. I was wondering why I wasn't hit with a Hydro Pump this time," said Tracy, a smile tugging at his lips.

"But he still seems to know who I am," said Lan. The others were thinking up excuses.

_If only I could speak normally...Well, at least I can try..._ He formed a word in his mouth.

"N-N...N-Netto-kun!" THe humans fell into stunned quiet.

"Netto...kun?" Lan repeated.

"Netto-kun," Megaman replied, feeling a little more confident.

"Amazing... Megaman can talk!" said Professor Oak.

"Wow! Megaman, can you say something else?" said Lan, looking excited. Megaman opened his mouth again...

"Va."

"I guess that's all you can manage... But that's okay," said Lan, petting Megaman's head. The former NetNavi stared up at him sorrowfully. P_lease understand, Lan. I want to talk... I want to figure this all out..._

The moment was interrupted by a large CRACK! They all looked up at the door in alarm. It sounded like there was a scuffle outside.

"Calm down!"

"FLARE! FLARE FLARE FLAREON!!!"

"Who's there?" called Professor Oak. THe people outside went quiet, then there was a knock at the door. Tracy ran over and opened it. Megaman gasped. CHAUD BLAZE?!


	2. Chapter 2

chapter 2: Enter Protoman

It was, indeed, the dual haired boy. A Flareon tagged at his heels, snarling. Could that be Protoman?

"Can I help you?" said Professor Oak.

"You're Professor Oak, the Pokemon genius, right?" said Chaud.

"Yeah, he is," said Tracy.

"I was hoping you could take a look at my Flareon. He's been acting strangely..." said Chaud, nodding at the creature that now bobbed around his ankles.

"All right," said the professor, reaching out for the pokemon. It arched its back, fur on end as it went FIIITTZ! "Hm. Not very trusting, is he?" said Oak, glancing at Chaud.

"No, he's not. ANd that's helped us several times," said Chaud. Megaman hesitantly approached the Flareon.

"Protoman? Is that you?" he asked. THe Flareon smirked.

"Megaman... I suspected that, with Dr. Hikari and Lan here," he replied.

"It is you! Do you know what's happened? Where we are?"

"...I don't know anything about this situation," said Protoman. The humans understood none of this. "Well, it seems to get along well with Megaman," said Dr. Hikari. Chaud stood perfectly still, watching the two Eevee evolutions intently.

"So, does your Flareon have a name?" said Lan.

"Yes, Protoman," said Chaud.

"Protoman? That's a weird one!" Lan laughed. Chaud glared at him.

"Unusual, Lan. Not weird," corrected Dr. Hikari.

"Sure, whatever you say, Dad. Anyway, why'd you name it 'Protoman,' of all things?" said lan.

"Why did you name your Vaporeon 'Megaman?'" said Chaud. Lan looked over at megaman.

"I don't know. I guess it just...fit."

"Well, Protoman, you look different," Megaman observed, trying not to laugh.

"Yes, I know. I look like a cute orange and yellow puffball that wants to be cuddled. This is ridiculous... Do you think it's the big, watery black eyes or the 'puff' bit that makes strangers want to pick me up?"

"All strangers?"

"Yep. Watch." said Protoman. He stalked up to Tracy and looked us at the boy, eyes wide and tail flicking as he said, "Flare?" An immediate change came over Tracy as he went, "Awww!" He scooped Protoman up from the ground and held him close. "Cute!"

"See what I mean?" said Protoman, struggling to get free. Chaud rushed over and snatched the Flareon from tracy.

"I'm gonna have to say it was the adorable little 'flare' that did it," Megaman sniggered. Tracy took Protoman back and began to coo over him while Chaud hissed curses at him.

"Okay. I want out of this horror story. NOW," said Protoman, annoyed and squirming. Megaman smiled as he watched.

_We may be some sort of weird creatures... But if Protoman and I are working together... I know we can set this right._

* * *

_A scream split the air. Chaud and Lan, cross-fused, glared at a monstrous virus looming over them... Chaud stared at his hand in amazement as a purplish blue glow shone in the form of a crest on his palm... He held out one arm, making Anetta step back from the enemy before them... With a roar of rage, he few at Shademan, sword at the ready.... he was plummeting towards dark protoman, anger burning deep inside... He was staring at a window, where his reflection stared back. And suddenly a person with long silver hair, a red helmet and dark visor was staring back through that rain streaked glass...._

Chaud sat up, gasping. It took him a moment to realize it had been a dream. He leaned back into the pillows and closed his eyes for a moment as he caught his breath. The image of the stranger with the visor came back to haunt him. That guy...whoever he was...was so familiar...

"I wonder what his name was..." he whispered aloud. "....Blues...?"

Lan woke up with a huge yawn, stretching his arms as he sat up in bed. Megaman noticed the shift in the covers and yawned too, standing up on the mattress and arching his back before shaking his head furiously. He followed Lan downstairs, into the kitchen.

"You're very loud on the stairs," said Chaud, lowering the newspaper so he could look at Lan. The younger boy scowled.

"You didn't have to stay for the night..."

"Lan, be a little more polite. Chaud is our guest," said Mrs. Hikari. Chaud brought the newspaper back up, while Lan gave a 'humph' of annoyance.

"I don't think we'll be able to convince them to work together," said Protoman, looking up from the bowl of poke-food Mrs. Hikari had set out for him.

"I'm gonna have to agree with you..." said Megaman, watching the two boys.

"What do you suggest we do?" said Protoman.

"Force them to somehow remember?" said Megaman. Protoman lost interest in food and let his gaze travel around the room.

"Hmmm...Let's see...what can I burn...?"

"You can't burn anything in Mom's kitchen!"

"Mom's kitchen...? You call her Mom?"

"Yeah. So what?"

"...Never mind..." Protoman walked over to his NetOp and put his forepaws on the edge of the seat. "Ch...Ch..." Chaud lowered the newspaper again to stare at Protoman. The Flareon continued in his attempt. "Ch...Ch..." He paused, and one eye twitched uncontrollably. He decided to return to the food bowl.

"Found out you couldn't talk, huh?" said Megaman, as the other stormed past.

"Shut up," he growled. He glanced back at Chaud, and seemed to see something in the boy's eyes. He looked at the Vaporeon. "Megaman... He knows something. I can tell." Megaman glanced over at Chaud, who was still watching them, looking slightly confused.

"What?" said Lan, following his gaze. Chaud turned to look at him.

"Do they seem to...be hiding something...?" he asked. Lan looked back at him, obviously confused. Megaman looked at Protoman, heart rising in joy. Chaud, however, shook his head, saying, "Just forget I said anything." Protoman sighed.

The older boy folded up the newspaper and put it on the table before standing up and saying, "Thanks for letting me sleep here, Mrs. Hikari. Protoman and I should go now."

"Go? Where?" said Megaman, glancing at at the Flareon beside him.

"I'm really not too sure," said Protoman.

"Hang on, can I get Protoman's data on my Pokedex? I'm trying to get more pokemon on it than that Maylu girl," said Lan, holding up a red object that slightly reminded Megaman of a PET. Chaud shrugged. Lan pointed the object at Protoman, and an electronic voice spoke.

"**Flareon, the flame pokemon. Flareon's fluffy fur has a purpose- it releases heat into the air so its body doesn't get excessively hot. This pokemon's body temperature can rise to a maximum of 1,650 degrees**."

**"Vaporeon, the bubble jet pokemon. Vaporeon underwent a spontaneous mutation and grew fins and gills that allow it to live underwater. This pokemon has the ability to freely control water**," said a similar voice. Chaud had taken out an identical pokedex and had pointed it at Megaman. Both pokemon stood there, confused by the sudden knowledge they had heard.

"I can live underwater...?" said Megaman.

"Come on, Protoman," said Chaud, walking toward the door. Protoman didn't move. Chaud paused with his hand on the doorknob. "Protoman, come here." A slight chill had entered his voice. Protoman hesitated, then followed, glancing back at Megaman as he went. The door snapped shut.

"Good riddance," said Lan. Mrs. Hikari rolled her eyes. Lan finished breakfast in a matter of what seemed like seconds, then raced upstairs to change. Megaman glanced at the clock, and his eyes widened. Lan was late again! But why wasn't Mrs. Hikari trying to rush him on his was way to school? And where was Lan supposed to have been for so long...? Lan came back down, fixing the position of his bandana as he spoke.

"I'm off. Megaman and I are going to do a little training."

"All right... But no pranks on the neighbors. and don't upset that poor girl down the block!" said Mrs. Hikari. Lan went out the door, grumbling angrily about Maylu. Lan paused in a little park and hid behind a tree. Megaman peered around the trunk to see what Lan had spotted.

Maylu was sitting on a bench, reading a book while stroking a pink, catlike creature absent-mindedly. Lan cackled evilly and pulled out his pokedex. If Megaman had an eyebrow at the moment, it would've been raised. Lan pointed the pokedex at the creature beside Maylu, and the electronic voice rang out.

"**Espeon, the Psychic pokemon. Espeon is extremely loyal to any trainer it considers worthy. It is said that this pokemon developed its precognitive powers in order to protect its trainer from harm...**" Lan cursed at it, trying to muffle the sound, but it was too late.

"Lan Hikari!" cried Maylu, spotting them. Her face was one of pure anger, and she jumped up when she saw them. She whipped out her pokedex and aimed it at Megaman.

"**Vaporeon, the bubble jet pokemon...**"

"Hey!" Lan cried indignantly. Maylu stuck her tongue out.

"Serves you right, jerk!" she cried. The pink pokemon looked up, stunned by the sight of the vaporeon standing next to Lan. Megaman noticed a necklace around its neck too, though this one had Roll's symbol.

"Roll!" he cried, running over. The Espeon leaped down with a shout.

"Megaman! Megaman, is that you?" THey skidded to a halt with their noses inches apart. "Megaman, what's going on? I woke up yesterday like this, and Maylu was insulting Lan nonstop..."

"I don't know. But Protoman looks like a living pompom that wants to be squeezed," said Megaman.

"Protoman's here too?" said Roll. He nodded.

"Hey! Don't you dare hurt Roll!" cried Maylu, scooping the Espeon into her arms and holding her tightly. Lan ran over and began to drag Megaman away. Both pokemon struggled with the NetOps.

"Is there a problem here?" said a stranger. It was a woman dressed in a blue police uniform, with long green hair.

"N-No, Officer Jenny. It's just..." Lan was cut off.

"We were on our way home," said Maylu, shooting Lan a dirty look before spinning on her heel and stalking away. Roll watched helplessly over the girl's shoulder as they rounded a bend in the path. Lan snorted and walked away, Megaman following quietly. They paused by a fountain.

"Okay, Megaman. Let's do some training," he said.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Away Again

Megaman looked up, blinking. Did Lan have his PET?!

"Okay, Megaman! Water Gun!" said Lan.

Silence. Megaman was waiting for Lan to download a chip so whatever this gun was (probably a bubbler) could form where his paw now was. Lan made no move to do this, just watched him expectantly. After a minute, Megaman cocked his head to the side to show he was confused. Lan seemed just as confused as he was.

"Megaman? You okay?" he asked. Megaman nodded. "Okay.... Water Gun!" Still no response. Lan tried other attempts. "Sand Attack? Acid Armor? Haze? Mist? Hydro Pump...?" Both blinked at each other. "Then let's start with the basics..." Lan sighed. He spread his arms wide and said, "All right, tackle me!"

_You want me to attack you...? _thought Megaman. He leaped onto Lan, causing him to topple over backwards. They wrestled in the grass for a while until Lan lay still, laughing his head off. Megaman got off of the boy as he said, "Well, I think you've got that one down!" He stood up. "Now let's try Quick Attack." Megaman cocked his head once more. "Then... How about Tail Whip?" Megaman twirled, and his tail caught Lan's ankles, causing him to fall again.

_Enough?_ he thought.

"Well, you've got a few things to get to, but at least you know some," said Lan, reaching out and poking the upright fin on top of Megaman's head. His eyes suddenly narrowed. Megaman followed his gaze and caught sight of a group of black-clad people watching them.

"Come on, Megaman. We're going home..." he murmured. They left the spot and headed back towards the house. Lan tapped Officer Jenny's shoulder.

"Yes?" she said, looking around at him.

"I think those guys are kinda suspicious," he said, pointing at the men behind them. They seemed to freeze up when they realized Jenny was watching them.

"I see what you mean. I'll keep an eye on them," she said. Lan nodded, and continued on his way.

"Oh, you're back," said Mrs. Hikari, as they walked through the door.

"Hi, Mom," said Lan. Megaman sniffed the air. Apparently Lan's mother was making spaghetti. Lan stopped next to her to watch as she added a few ingredients to the sauce.

"How did training go?" she asked.

"Megaman seems to have forgotten everything except Tackle and Tail Whip. I still don't know what's wrong. Do you think he's sick or something?" said Lan. Megaman sat next to the boy's foot, watching the pair with curious black eyes. Mrs. Hikari glanced down at him.

"Maybe you've been focusing on training too much, and he got stressed out. Your father sometimes does that. Maybe if you try just traveling without battles for a while, he'll get better," she said. Lan looked down at Megaman.

"But I was planning to use him to beat the Elite Four..."

"No more talk about that. Perhaps Megaman isn't the pokemon you need to reach that goal," she said, waving a spoon at her son. Lan looked crestfallen. Megaman pawed at his leg, unhappy at how Lan seemed to be feeling.

"Well... I'll be in my room," he said, heading for the stairs.

"I'll call you when dinner's ready," she called.

In the bedroom, Lan flopped onto the bed and lay there for a long time. After several minutes of waiting, Megaman made a small noise, just to be sure Lan remembered he was there too. Lan rolled over and propped his head on his hands as he stared at Megaman.

"Well...? What'll it be?" he asked. "If you don't want to face off with the Elite Four, I won't blame you." Megaman jumped onto the bed and batted Lan's face with one paw. He brushed it away, laughing. "So, you still want to do it?" Megaman nodded vigorously (even though he knew nothing about the Elite Four). Lan's smile grew wider and he said, "Yeah, that's right. Nobody can stop us!"

They were called down about five minutes later. Lan began to eat as soon as he sat down. Megaman went over to the food bowl. By following Protoman's example from that morning, he found he was able to eat. And this time, he found a treat on top of the normal poke-food: One of the meatballs. He gobbled it down almost as fast as Lan. Mrs. Hikari laughed at their behavior.

"I'm glad you like it," she said. Lan mumbled something incoherently, while Megaman nodded again.

* * *

The next day, Megaman sat on Lan's desk chair, glaring at the Poke-ball, which sat inches away from the computer screen. He reached out one paw and poked the round grey button. The ball doubled in size, and he almost fell off the chair in shock. Once he recovered himself, he poked it again. With a yelp, he found himself inside it once more. He rattled the ball as much as he could, shouting at Lan to get him out. But the boy merely turned over, muttering something about curry. Megaman sighed, ceased his struggles, and decided to explore this tiny area. It was tinted red as light shone through the top. And as far as Megaman could tell, it was supposed to be a strange PET. Just not as roomy. He lay down, sensing there was no danger, and began to doze. He was woken up when Lan accidently fell out of bed, waking himself up in the process.

"Ow.... Sorry, Megaman... Megaman? Where are you?" He looked around, suddenly wide awake. Megaman managed to roll over to him and bumped into his hand. Lan spotted him and smiled. "Megaman! Does this mean you're okay with poke-balls again?"

_Sure I'm okay... But I prefer none_.

"Great!" said Lan, picking up the ball. In his hand, it opened and released Megaman onto the floor. Both of them smiled, and Lan stood up. "Well, Mom said she made something new for breakfast. Let's see what it is." They went downstairs to find Mrs. Hikari setting out a plate with an odd pastry on it.

"I heard you wake up," she said, obviously in a good mood.

"Yeah, I thought so. What's this?" said Lan, sitting down and inspecting the food (something he rarely did-at one point in kindergarten, Dex had tricked him into eating a real worm, rather than a gummy one due to this).

"It's called Butter Bread. I got it from a girl who was trying to raise money for her club," said Mrs. Hikari.

"Was it Maylu Sakurai?" said Lan, glaring at it.

"No. I don't see why you don't like her, she's a very nice girl," said Mrs. Hikari. Lan heard nothing except 'no,' and was snarfing down the Butter Bread. Mrs. Hikari sighed and looked at Megaman. "I don't know how we put up with him," she said. Megaman shrugged. Lan looked up at them.

"This stuff is great!" he cried. "Can I have some more, please?" Mrs. Hikari laughed and put some more on his plate. After Lan successfully depleted the supply of Butter Bread, he stood up and made an announcement. "Mom, I think I'm going to leave again." Mrs. Hikari sighed in a way that showed she had done this many times before.

"I'm sorry your father wasn't able to come home while you were here. He's been studying evidence on a strange type of pokemon, and now he's going to leave for Johto soon."

"That's okay. I'm used to it," said Lan.

After the butterbread was completely gone, Lan went back up to his room. He packed a backpack and pulled it onto his back. Mrs. Hikari waited for him next to the door with Megaman. They stood patiently until Lan came back down.

"Have you got everything? Poke-balls? Some clothes?"

"Yes, Mom," he said, rolling his eyes. "I got everything on the list."

"Alright. Come home soon," said Mrs. Hikari, giving him a hug. Lan wriggled out of her embrace.

"Okay. Come on, Megaman," he said, opening the door. Megaman trotted outside with Lan right behind him. Mrs. Hikari waved as they walked down the street. The two of them were soon on the path out of the town.

An angry look came over Lan's face. Megaman looked up to see what had caused this, and saw Maylu a little ahead of them, walking in the same direction. Lan grumbled darkly. Maylu glanced behind her. As she caught sight of Lan, her eyes narrowed and she sniffed in disdain. Lan sped up and soon became level with the girl. Megaman glanced up and saw Roll in Maylu's arms. Both of them stayed quiet. Lan raised his chin a little and went a little faster. Maylu (who seemed determined to ignore him) did the same. They kept this up until they were running at breakneck speed, glaring and growling at each other. Megaman was struggling to keep up, and Roll was trying not to fall from her position.

"Give up, Sakurai!" said Lan.

"Not until you do, Hikari!" she replied. Neither of them noticed the people up ahead until they had smashed right into them. The four of them groaned in unison. Megaman circled the pile, having been lucky enough to have avoided becoming part of it. A brown pokemon with a skull over its head, wielding a bone club struggled out.

"Cool!" said Lan, holding up the pokedex.

'**Marowak, the bone keeper pokemon. Marowak is the evolved form of a Cubone that has grown tough. This Pokemon's tempered and hardened spirit is not easily broken.**'

"Wow! A Vaporeon!" cried one of the humans, lifting his head.

"Dingo?!" said Megaman. Dingo took out a pokedex too.

'**Vaporeon, the bubble jet pokemon...**'

"Vaporeon?" said the other person they'd run into. This one was a black haired boy wearing a baseball cap. He was a complete stranger to Megaman. The Marowak saw the necklace Megaman wore immediately.

"Megaman! It's me, Tomahawkman!"

"Thought so," said Megaman, smiling. A yellow mouselike pokemon crawled out with Roll. Lan's pokedex spoke again.

"**Pikachu, the electric mouse pokemon. Pikachu has electricity-storing pouches on its cheeks. If there are too many Pikachu kept in the same place, they can cause lightning storms and power outages in nearby cities**.'

"Let me guess... Trill? Elecman? Thunderman?" said Megaman. The Pikachu cocked its head to the side.

"Pika?"

"That one isn't a NetNavi," said Tomahawkman, using the bone to point at it. "But that's not our problem. What's going on?"

"Good question," said Megaman.

"Do you think it's some new enemy messing with our minds?" said Roll. They were interrupted as the NetOps (and stranger) got to their feet.

"Sorry about that," said Lan. "We were going too fast..."

"Not a problem," said Dingo, dusting himself off.

"My name's Ash. And this is my buddy, Pikachu," said the stranger. The Pikachu clambered onto his shoulder and started to play with his hat.

"And this is Tomahawkman," said Dingo, pointing at the Marowak.

"This is Megaman," said Lan.

"And this is my best friend, Roll," said Maylu.

"Where are you headed?" said Lan.

"I'm going toward Mt. Moon. There's supposed to be some sort of super pokemon there, and I'm gonna find it," said Dingo.

"I'm trying to find my friends, Misty and Brock. You haven't seen them, have you? Misty's a redhead that uses water pokemon, and Brock is the last Gym Leader for Pewter gym," said Ash.

"No, we haven't. Sorry," said Maylu.

"That's okay. They'll probably be in Cerulean City," said Ash.

"That's pretty far from here. But it sounds like a cool place to go. Right, Megaman?" said Lan. Megaman nodded.

"Travel? That's all Dingo seems to be thinking about," said Tomahawkman, sounding disapproving. "And I can't give him the right directions, because I have no idea where things are..."

"Why don't we go with you? We can help you find your friends," said Maylu.

"Okay, sounds great!" said Ash.

"Hang on... If Sakurai is going there, we're not," said Lan stubbornly, glancing at Megaman. The Vaporeon looked at his fellow pokemon.

"Sorry guys, but I need to stick with Lan."

"That's okay, we understand," said Tomahawkman. The humans watched the three talk in silence.

"Do you ever think they're plotting against us or something?" said Dingo.

"Nah," said Ash, scratching his Pikachu behind its ear. Megaman suddenly looked up, eyes wide.

"Did you hear that?" he whispered.

"Hear what?" said Tomahawkman.

"Listen..." said Megaman. They were silent.

"oh... I hear it too!" said Roll. "It sounds kind of like a virus..."

"Then let's go," said Tomahawkman, looking excited. "I've been wanting to smash something for a while now!" They glanced at the humans, who didn't seem to be paying any attention at the moment. Lan and Maylu were arguing about whether or not Lan was a big fat jerk, and Ash and Dingo were trying to calm them down.

"We're going to come right back," said Megaman. He ran off in the direction of the sound, and Dingo saw them go.

"Hang on! They're running away!" he said. They ran after the three pokemon and stopped in a clearing.

"Whoa, that's one big Mightyena!" said Ash. Lan took out the pokedex.

"**Mightyena, the dark pokemon. Mightyena travel and act as a pack in the wild. The memory of its life in the wild compels it to obey only those trainers that it recognizes to possess superior skill.**" A very large example of this pokemon was prowling around a tree, snarling.

"Look!" said Maylu, pointing at the branches. Someone was hiding among the leaves.

"Megaman! Use Water Gun!" said Lan. Megaman glanced at him, and Lan realized his mistake. "Oops. Sorry, Megaman." The Mightyena looked around and leaped at them, snarling...


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Elecman's Little Problem

Chaud walked slowly down the path, trees on either side. Protoman was being carried in his arms (with legs as small as he now had, it was hard to keep up with the NetOp), and feeling very bitter about his new appearance. They had already crossed through one town and a small forest (nothing tried to challenge them-apparently they'd been taught a lesson before now). Chaud had spotted the next town and had sped up, muttering something about the clouds above them. He stopped short and shifted protoman so he could get out his pokedex and point it at some bushes.

"Jolteon, the lightning pokemon. Jolteon's cells generate a low level of electricity. This power is amplified by the static electricity of its fur, enabling it to drop thunderbolts. When angered, the hairs on Jolteon's body turn into needles that are fired at its opponent." A spiky yellow and white creature poked its head out of the bushes and blinked at them. A Raichu and several Mareep followed. The Mareep spread out to block the road, and the Raichu tried to keep them in a tight bunch. The Jolteon looked up at Protoman.

"Protoman, I presume?"

"Elecman? And where, may I ask, is Count Zap?"

"How would I know? I've got a giant rat and sheep following me everywhere, but I don't have a clue why," said Elecman. He grinned, saying, "But... I never thought I'd see the almighty Protoman morphed into a pom pom."

"Take it back!" hissed Protoman, struggling to get at the other pokemon. Chaud blinked in surprise and held protoman tighter, but this only made the former NetNavi angrier. Fire roared out of his mouth, and he wriggled free...

They dodged, and Maylu shouted, "Roll! Swift Attack!" Roll turned to face the large opponent and opened her mouth. Stars flew out, nailing Mightyena in the chest.

"Nice. When did you get that attack?" said Megaman.

"Since... Right now, I guess," she replied.

"Tomahawkman, Bone Club!" said Dingo.

"I'm gonna guess he means whack that thing with your bone," said Roll, when the Marowak glanced at them. He tossed the bone as hard as he could, hitting the Mightyena between the eyes. It howled and backed away, giving Tomahawkman enough time to retrieve his bone and dash back to the others.

"Iron Tail!" said Maylu. Roll's tail went silvery grey, and she thwacked the Mightyena with it. The dark pokemon stayed down, seemingly pouting. "Not so tough now, eh?" said Maylu, glancing at the others. The Mightyena took advantage of her lapse of concentration to jump at Roll, teeth bared.

"Pikachu!" said Ash. It leaped from his shoulder, sparking angrily.

"CHUUU!" The Mightyena yowled as it was hit with a thunderbolt attack, then fell to the side in a faint. The person in the tree scrambled down and shook their hands energetically.

"Thank you! Thank you! I'm not sure what happened when it evolved, but my Mightyena tried to EAT me! Thank you so much! Now, excuse me while I take this guy to a pokemon center..." The person put the Mightyena back into its poke-ball and ran away.

"That happens sometimes..." said Lan.

"Is something wrong with Megaman?" said Ash.

"He kinda forgot all of his attacks except Tackle and Tail Whip," said Lan.

"He won't download any chips," Megaman grumbled. "And my MegaBuster doesn't work either..."

"Don't expect them. Things have changed, remember?" said Roll.

"Then what should I expect?" said Megaman.

"Try watching Roll again, and imitate. Maybe that'll work," said Tomahawkman. Roll used Swift Attack again, and looked back at them. Megaman hesitated, then tried. A few tiny stars came out, dropping to the ground after about a foot.

"Keep trying," said Roll. Lan knelt down next to them.

"You can do it, Megaman! Just keep practicing, and you'll get it," he said. Megaman tried again, and got a few more stars. Dingo glanced up at the sky.

"It's getting pretty dark up there. I think we should get moving."

"Maybe we can get to Viridian before it starts raining," said Ash. Pikachu climbed onto his shoulder again. Maylu, Lan, and Dingo took out poke-balls and said in unison, "Return!" Megaman found himself in the ball again, and lay down, wondering exactly what he could use as attacks.

The next day, they walked out of the Pokemon Center in Viridian, and the pokemon trotted beside their trainer/NetOps.

"What're we going to do?" asked Tomahawkman, looking around at the others.

"We can figure out who's causing this and what we can do to get back home. It's like the classic video games- beat the boss and everything will go back to normal," said Megaman.

"It's creepy... This reminds me of that one anime, Princess Tutu. A scary old guy who was supposed to be dead was controlling people with a story. Do you think that's what's happening to us?" said Roll.

"Princess... Hey, Isn't that the anime with the girl named 'Duck' and the main character whose name sounds more like Choochoo?" said Tomahawkman.

"You actually watched that show?" said Megaman.

" Medi forced me after I said she looked like like a demented snowman," said Tomahawkman, shrugging. Pikachu watched them, clueless as to what they were talking about.

"So, where is Mt. Moon?" said Dingo, squinting around.

"East of here, I think," said Maylu.

"OKAY!" shouted Dingo, sprinting off toward God knows where.

"No, that's West! WEST!" Tomahawkman cried, running after him.

"That's the wrong way..." said Maylu, confused.

"He's got a problem with directions," said Ash, shaking his head. Pikachu nodded. Tomahawkman and DIngo reappeared a few minutes later, with the Marowak pulling the boy behind him.

"How was I supposed to know I'd run into a dead end?"

"I wish I was a NetNavi again. It gets really tiring to chase somebody all over the country," said Tomahawkman.

"Ten bucks say Maylu chickens out in Mt. Moon," said Lan.

"Oh yeah? Twenty bucks say you will," said Maylu. The pair glowered at each other.

"It's a pretty big change, huh? I got the first impression that Maylu had a cr-" Tomahawkman didn't get to finish his sentence, because Roll pounced on him with a howl of rage. Maylu turned her attention to helping Dingo pry the Espeon off her victim. After several minutes of struggling, Roll was hissing from her NetOp's arms.

"Let's hurry up. I've got a bet to win!" cried Lan, taking off at full speed toward the road. The others struggled to keep up, and they paused a while later. The mouth of a cave yawned before them, while the mountain itself towered above. "Scared yet?" Lan asked, smirking as he glanced at Maylu.

"Not a chance," she said. She walked inside, vanishing into the darkness. "Well? Are you coming or not?" Dingo whooped and followed, Tomahawkman on his heels. Ash and Lan glanced at each other before entering the pitch-blackness.

"This is exactly why I caught this guy!" said Dingo, tossing a poke-ball. A strange creature resembling a green and tan hedgehog with an overlong snout appeared. Instead of needles, flames flickered on its back.

"Cool!" said Ash.

'Cyndaquil protects itself by shooting flames out of its back. when tired, it sputters fitfully with incomplete combustion,' said the pokedex. Cyndaquil's fire was lighting up the cave around them, and Megaman was glad of this.

"There's no ghosts in a cave like this, right?" he asked, sounding uncertain.

"Of course not! just that," said Roll, pointing as something small and pink scuttled past them.

'Clefairy, the fairy pokemon. On nights of the full moon, groups of this pokemon come out to play. It's looks make it popular as a pet, but it is rare and difficult to find,' said Maylu's pokedex.

"A fat pink pokemon. I bet you'd want it, then," said Lan, glancing at Maylu. (the Clefairy looked highly miffed at this).

"I've already got a Clefable, thanks," she replied.

"Hey Tomahawkman, could you ask Clefairy if it's seen the superpower pokemon?" said Dingo. Tomahawkman nodded and asked the other pokemon. It started squeaking and pointing farther down the cave.

"Thanks," said Dingo.

"So, why are you trying to find it?" asked Ash, as they followed the black-clad boy and his Cyndaquil.

"Professor Birch asked me to come here and study it, since he's busy in Hone. Not only is he trying to cure Sakura's Rayquaza, but his son Brandon is going to challenge the Elite Four," said Dingo.

"I'm gonna beat the Elite Four," said Ash, a determined look etched into his face. Pikachu agreed.

"Pika!"

"Shh!" Dingo hissed. Cyndaquil's flames almost went out, and they all jumped behind a large rock. Each were as silent as they could manage. Just ahead, something stirred. Whatever it was, it yawned before getting to its feet. Dingo held his breath, trying to discern its shape through the dark. Cyndaquil brightened ever so slightly. The creature moved its spiked head, and their eyes widened. it was looking right at them.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Team Rocket Returns

There was a huff of annoyance, and it took off down the tunnel. Pikachu bolted after it.

"PIKACHU!"

"Come back!" cried Ash, running after it. The rest pursued. They didn't know how long they ran until there was a crash up ahead.

"Ash! Ash, are you okay?" Lan shouted. They skidded to a halt. A huge gap had appeared in the cave wall, letting in sunlight that almost blinded them. A huge machine modeled after what seemed to be a robot towered over them. In one hand was the pokemon Dingo had been looking for, squeezed against Pikachu in the robot's grip.

"That thing's got Pikachu!" said Ash. "Go! Bulbasaur!" A strange blueish creature with a bud on its back burst out of a pokeball.

"Bulba!"

"HAHAHAHA!" Part of the robot's head opened, to reveal two people-a boy and a girl- and their cat pokemon.

"Prepare for trouble!" said the girl.

"And make it double," said the boy.

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all peoples within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!" At this point they struck a dramatic pose, while the boy whipped a rose out of thin air.

"Jessie!" cried the girl.

"James!" said the boy.

"Team Rocket, Blast off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!" The cat spoke up now.

"Meowth, that's..." They were greeted by a Bonemerang from Tomahawkman. "Hey, what's the big idea? We weren't finished yet!" shouted the Meowth.

"Let them go!" Dingo demanded.

"After how long we've spent tracking this twerp and his Pikachu? No way!" shouted Jessie.

"Have it your way, then!" said Lan. "Megaman, Aurora Beam!" Megaman opened his mouth, and an immense beam of rainbow colored light burst out. With amazing speed Team Rocket panicked, dove back into the robot, and managed to steer it out of harm's way. The robot turned and fled.

"Bulbasaur, Vine Whip!" said Ash. Vines shot out from the Bulbasaur's back, winding around the robot several times and pulling back. The pokemon gave little grunts as it tried to stand its ground, but the strain was proving too much.

"Lickitung! I choose you!" said Maylu, tossing a pokeball of her own. A pink pokemon with a rather large tail and white markings popped out. "Use Wrap!" Lickitung opened its mouth... and Megaman realized where it had gotten such an odd name. A big tongue, fifty feet at least, snaked out of its mouth to catch Team Rocket's robot and sending them crashing to the ground. The wreckage smoked as the hand released the two pokemon inside. Pikachu ran to Ash with a loud cry of joy.

"Hey! We stole that fair and square!" Jessie screamed. "Arbok!"

"You too, Weezing!" A giant purple cobra and a two headed _thing_ came out.

"Get Pikachu!" said the Meowth. Both pokemon lunged.

"Megaman, let's show them what we think of Pokemon thieves! Hydro Cannon!" said Lan. Megaman's eyes glowed bright blue, and water under enormous pressure burst from him. TEam Rocket was blown away, screaming, "We're blasting off again!"

"Oh yeah! That was great, Megaman!" Lan cried, scooping up the Vaporeon and swinging it around.

"He looks like a little kid with a doll," commented Maylu. Megaman smiled faintly as Lan continued to cheer.

"Yeah... I guess I did it..." he mused. Maylu turned her attention to Lickitung.

"You did great, Lickitung. Return." The pink pokemon vanished into its pokeball. Dingo ran over to the robot's remains and sighed in defeat.

"That pokemon's gone, and it probably won't come back to Mt. Moon after this," he said.

"Bummer," said Ash.

"I'll find it again, don't worry. News will come around sooner or later about it, and I'll just track the thing down," said Dingo.

"What if it's somewhere in the Johto region or something?" said Lan.

"I've got a Swellow, and it can fly me anywhere," said Dingo, smiling.

"Swellow?" Tomahawkman repeated, obviously confused.

"Probably another one of those crazy pokemon things," said Roll.

"Megaman?" said Lan. Either the Hydro Cannon or the spinning (or perhaps both) had caused the former NetNavi to pass out. "Okay then, return," said Lan, smiling. Megaman went back into the pokeball.

Two hours later the group entered Cerulean City.

"Wow," said Roll. "It doesn't look like DenTech City... But at least it's not that Pallet place."

"So, where's your friends?" asked Maylu, looking at Ash.

"Probably the gym. Come on, it's right up here," said Ash, leading them down a street and up a hill. They stopped in front of a large building. "Misty! Brock! Are you here?" he called.

"Ash!" cried an orangey haired girl, running over with a dark-haired boy behind her.

"Hey, guys!" said Ash.

"Ash, we were worried. Where were you? And who are these guys?" said the boy.

"This is Lan, Maylu, and Dingo. You three, these are Misty and Brock," said Ash.

"Nice to meet you," said Misty, smiling brightly. An egg-like pokemon chirped from her arms.

"Togi togi PRIIII!"

"A Togepi! That's so cute!" said Maylu. Roll nodded in agreement.

"Isn't it?" said Misty. The two girls were soon talking non-stop about cute pokemon, while Dingo explained to Brock why he was looking for a certain pokemon.

"Sounds interesting. Is Professor Birch friends with Professor Oak?" said Brock.

"Yeah, all the professors are friends. Meaning Oak will get the data I collect as well," said Dingo, nodding.

"I'll be looking forward to that. Did you see exactly what it looked like?"

"No, it was dark. The pokemon seemed to have a liquid body, because it kept moving... and its head was pretty big. That's all I could get," said Dingo.

"Pity. It sounds very interesting," said Brock.

"But it'll be really disappointing if it's actually a prankster or a Ditto," said Lan.

"It's happened before, so I wouldn't be surprised. But still, whatever it was attacked Little Root Town a few weeks back. I think it's a dark type," said Dingo. There was a small sound, and Megaman emerged from the pokeball with a yawn.

"Hey, Megaman. Feeling better?" said Lan. Megaman nodded. "Well then, we're off," he said.

_Off?_ Megaman thought, stunned. _Off to where?_ Ash seemed to be thinking the same thing.

"Where are you headed?"

"The Sevii Islands. My Dad mentioned that my grandpa Tadashi lived and was buried there, so I thought Megaman and I would go and see his grave," said Lan.

"Sevii Islands, huh? That's where the three legendary bird pokemon were seen last," said Dingo.

"Yeah. maybe I'll see one of them too," said Lan, laughing. "It was nice meeting you guys. Let's go, Megaman." Megaman looked at the others.

"Go on, we'll catch up. Even if I have to put Dingo through hell to do that," said Tomahawkman.

"Yeah," said Roll.

"Okay, then... Bye," said Megaman. He followed Lan. Near the outskirts of Cerulean, Lan noticed that Ash, Misty, Brock, and Maylu were following him.

"Did you want something?" he asked, stopping.

"Yeah. We want to go to the Sevii Islands too!" said Ash.

"I'm going to visit my cousin, Loreli," said Maylu, glaring at Lan.

"Okay... If you want... But I don't have a Rainbow Pass for everyone," he said. Misty held up four Rainbow Passes.

"There are advantages to being related to Gym Leaders," she said. Lan was cut off in his next comment by a shout.

"Get off my head, dammit!" They ran around the corner to see Chaud. A huge flock of Mareep were piled up against him, reaching almost to his waist, while the Raichu kept them there. An enraged Protoman was leaping at him, snarling and snapping as little tongues of flame came out of his jaws. On top of the boy's head was an extremely freaked out Elecman.

"I take it back, alright? It was only a joke!" cried Elecman, struggling to keep his balance while Chaud tried to pull him off. The Raichu whooped and Chaud tipped backwards. In seconds he was covered by the Mareep. Lan pulled him out and said, "Chaud, what's going on?"

"I don't know! They won't leave me alone!" Chaud snapped. He pulled Elecman off of his head and tried to toss it, but the Jolteon instead ended up clinging to his back, trying to fend off the snarling, bristling pompom below him. To his credit, Protoman didn't give up easily. He breathed fire, catching Elecman and scorching his NetOp's vest. Elecman yelped and fell, only to be tackled by the maddened Flareon.

"TAKE IT BACK! TAKE IT BACK!"

"I ALREADY DID! MERCY, I BEG YOU!"

"Protoman! It's you!" cried Roll. She and Megaman ran over to separate the two.

"Thank you, thank you kind strangers..." said Elecman. He saw the charms they wore and said, "Hey! It's the blue pip-squeak and girlfriend!"

"TAKE IT BACK!" Roll howled, pouncing Protoman-esque onto the old enemy.

"No, Roll! Please..." said Megaman, exasperated. Once the trainers had successfully broken up the fight, Chaud scooped up Protoman and glared at the electric pokemon.

"Oh, I know these mareep! They belong to a man in Saffron City," said Misty.

"Then I'm going to return them before they decide to dog-pile me again..." Chaud growled. He strode away, with the flock right behind him, bleating mournfully.

"We're coming too," said Lan, cheerily following the mareep's example.

"Oh no you don't," said Chaud, growling.

"Why not?" said Lan.

"How do I know you're not plotting with them? Ever since I went to that stinking Pallet Town, Protoman's been talking, I've been mauled by electric pokemon, I keep seeing non-existing people, and I THINK I'M LOSING MY MIND!" Chaud screamed, throwing his hands over his head and sending Protoman flying (luckily Chaud had excellent reflexes and caught him very quickly). Seconds later he was his stoic self again... Meanwhile Protoman was ruffled and dumbstruck in his arms.

"Who is this nutcase?" Ash whispered.

"I'm not really sure. He turned up at Professor Oak's lab recently because his Flareon had the same symptoms as Megaman. They're fine now, but I don't know where Chaud came from or anything," said Lan.

"I'm not deaf, you know," said Chaud.

"We can make a stop in Saffron City, it's not too far from Vermilion," said Misty. Chaud set Protoman on the ground and hopped a fence, then stopped to wait as the Flareon followed. Lan and the others copied, and ran to catch up, since Chaud had already begun walking.

"So what have you been doing lately?" asked Megaman.

"Walking and... Flying, actually. Chaud seems to have captured a green dragon in one of those poke-balls. He called it Kazul," said Protoman.

"A dragon? All I know is that Maylu has a pink pokemon with a huge tongue," said Roll.

"I've been followed by these," said Elecman, nodding at the mareep. Each of the wool-laden creatures were hopping one by one over the fence behind them. The Raichu was taking great care in counting them. Once the last had made it, the Raichu scuttled over to Elecman and began to squeak about something.

"Lailai lai laichu..."

"I don't know what he's saying," said Elecman, looking at them in exasperation. The Mareep gathered around them.

"I'm guessing that they see you as their leader," said Megaman.

"Have you seen anyone else like us?" asked Elecman.

"Yeah, Dingo and Tomahawkman. They're looking for a new one of those pokemon," said Megaman.

"That makes... four duos and me. Count Zap's got to be around here somewhere, right?"

"Please... don't say that name...Either he or Slur might hear you and come back..." said Megaman.

"Count Zap is probably in Saffron, don't worry," said Roll. Elecman sighed, trying to ignore Raichu's constant babbling. Chaud stopped and looked back at them.

"Do you have flying-type pokemon?" he asked.

"No," said Lan.

"Butterfree," said Maylu.

"I've got a Pidgeot," said Ash.

"Do they know Fly?"

"Uh... Not the attack kind, no," said Ash. Chaud sighed and tossed some poke-balls. A green dragon with diamond-shaped wings, a large yellowish dragon with small blue wings, and a fearsome blue dragon with scythe-shaped red wings appeared with three accompanying roars. Chaud got onto the green one while Lan and Maylu pulled out their pokedexes.

"Dragonite, the dragon pokemon. This rare water-dweller, despite its bulky physique, can circle the world in sixteen hours."

"Flygon, the dragon pokemon. Flygon whips up a sandstorm while it flies, causing it to be nicknamed 'the elemental spirit of the desert.'"

"Salmence, the dragon pokemon. A dream of flying caused a mutation so this pokemon grew wings. When angry, it will destroy anything in sight."

"You can ride the others," said Chaud.

"Oh... Okay," said Ash, getting onto the Salmence with Brock right behind them. Maylu and Misty got onto the Dragonite, and Lan got onto Flygon, carrying Megaman and Protoman with him.

"Go and join them on Salmence," Chaud growled. Flygon craned its head around and snarled.

"No way. It's loaded down with Mareep, and I'm not riding with girls," said Lan.

"Forget it, let's just hurry up!" said Ash, trying to keep a Mareep from climbing up Salmance's neck.

"Fine. Kazul, let's go," said Chaud. The Flygon nodded and launched into the sky. Lan's stomach lurched as Kazul wheeled through the air.

"What's it doing?" he shouted.

"Kazul doesn't like many people. She gets rather agitated whenever someone other than a dragon pokemon or me get close," said Chaud, not sounding troubled in the least.

"I've noticed that she's fine around me," said Protoman. Megaman whooped as Kazul turned completely upside down.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Mary

They soared through the air with ease (as soon as Kazul calmed down, that is), and objects below passed by in a blur. Within a day, Kazul started to descend. The others followed her, and dust rose on either side of the diamond wings. Lan coughed loudly, and Megaman shut his eyes to relieve the stinging. The dragons halted abruptly, and their feet touched the grass.

"Wow! These pokemon are fast!" said Brock, hopping off before helping Ash unload the Mareep. Salmence raised its head and growled with pride. Dragonite set the girls on the ground before tottering over to Chaud. It made a low humming noise as the boy stroked its head.

"Good job, Dragonite. Return." Dragonite vanished into its pokeball.

"Is something wrong with it? It seemed tired," said Maylu.

"Dragonite isn't exactly mature. It's still pretty young, and its not as strong as the others," said Chaud. Elecman sat next to Megaman, and the two were squeezed almost to the point of suffocation as the Mareep and Raichu gathered. Lan got off of Kazul and fished the two Eevee evolutions out. Protoman pounced, scattering the electric pokemon. THe other two dragon pokemon returned to their poke-balls as well, and Chaud started to walk towards the city in the distance.

"Wait up!" said Lan. They entered Saffron City, and almost had to drag Ash away from the Fighting Dojo.

"Aw, come on..." he moaned. "If I'm going to be the best I've gotta practice, don't I?"

"Are you a friend of the scary old man?" asked a little girl, blinking at Chaud while a pink thing bobbed behind her.

"Where is he?" said Chaud.

"That way! Right, Chansy?" said the girl.

"Chan chan-sy!" said the pokemon, pointing.

"Thanks!" said Misty. They asked other people for directions as well, and wound up in front of a yellow and white house. Chaud knocked on the door, and there was a clatter from inside. The door opened to reveal... Megaman's jaw dropped. Count Zap was dressed in old, worn clothes and his hair splayed out in every direction.

"What, who...Mary!" he cried, throwing his arms around Chaud before pulling him inside.

"Let go of me!" Chaud cried, obviously not expecting this.

"How has Ring been doing, Mary? No more hallucinations now, right?"

"Sir, that's Chaud. A boy," said Misty.

"Oh! Uncle Zap, put him down! I'm right here!" said a blond girl, running over with a black pokemon at her heels. Through the combined efforts of the group and Mary, Chaud was freed and Count Zap steered toward the couch. Mary invited them to sit down and vanished, only to return with cups of tea. "I'm sorry about my uncle. He's been a wreck ever since Aunt Ann vanished on that ship two years ago," she said.

"That's okay, I've had stranger experiences," said Lan. Chaud was sitting farthest away from Count Zap, with Protoman bristling in his lap.

"Just keep him over there," he grumbled.

"Is that an Umbreon?" said Brock, indicating the black pokemon.

"Yeah, I've named it Ring," said Mary, smiling at the Umbreon. It nodded.

"Umbreon, the Moonlight pokemon. Umbreon evolved when exposed to the moon's waves. The rings on its body glow when it attacks." Megaman began to marvel at exactly how much the pokedex knew. Roll leaned closer to Megaman and whispered, "Ring... doesn't that sound familiar?" Ring strode over to them and sat beside the Vaporeon.

"Hey, guys. Do any of you think this is just plain weird? Mary actually thinking one of World Three's agents is her uncle?" Megaman started at the strong, female voice.

"You?" said Protoman, immediately distracted from the Count.

"Hey, Protoman!" said Ring. It took Megaman a few moments to remember.

"Oh yeah, you were in that Battle Chip GP! Isn't Mary related to Yai?" he said.

"You betcha. We were in a NetBattle when there was this flash of light and laughter... Then I was like this, laying on a couch while Mary addressed this senile moron as 'uncle.' Do you know what's going on?" said Ring.

"Laughter? That's a definite. Someone's toying with us. but why?" said Roll.

"Chaud knows some things, but not much. He's 'seeing nonexistent people,' and he'll respond to certain things," said Protoman.

"Like what?" said Lan.

"There was some pokemon that looked almost exactly like a virus, and he made a weird movement with the pokedex... As if he was about to use a PET," said Protoman.

"How do we find out who's behind this?" said Roll.

"That pokemon Dingo is looking for! Maybe that's the first 'boss' we have to beat!" said Megaman.

"Pika pikachu," said Pikachu, offering a piece of food that had been set out for them.

"Thanks," said Ring, taking it.

"So, where are you headed?" asked Mary.

"The Sevii Islands. Lan and Maylu are going for family reasons, and we're hoping to see a legendary pokemon," said Ash.

"Good luck with that. The three bird pokemon you're looking for haven't been seen in the Sevii Islands for a long time. The police are actually investigating whether or not they've been captured by Team Rocket," said Mary.

"That's horrible," said Misty.

"Hopefully they're only in hiding," said Mary.

"You've been rather quiet, Ann. Are you still thinking about that ship?" asked Count Zap, watching Maylu.

"I'm not Ann. I''m Maylu," she said quickly. Mary sighed.

"Uncle Zap isn't quite right in the head. He raises Mareep, the best you can find in the Kanto Region. Raichu and Elecman are the ones who make sure none of them get hurt. I wonder how they got all the way up to Cerulean..." said Mary.

"Maybe Raichu and Elecman got lost?" Lan suggested. Mary shrugged. There was a loud rumble outside, followed by screams.

"What's that?" said Brock. they opened the door. Huge rats were flooding through the streets, attacking people right and left.

"Raticate, the rat pokemon. Raticate's sturdy fangs grow steadily. To keep them ground down, it gnaws on rocks and logs," said Lan's pokedex.

"Oh no! Ring, use Psychic!" said Mary. Ring bounded out the door with a snarl. Her eyes glowed pure white, and several Raticate went flying. Similar commands were sent out.

"Roll, Psybeam!"

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"

"Megaman, Aurora Beam!"

"Protoman, Flamethrower!"

"Raichu, Elecman, Mareep, Thunder!" There was an almighty cacophony as all of the attacks hit home. The Raticate swarm squealed loudly, rounding on them.

"Not good!" said Lan.

"No problem! Mareep, you know what to do!" said Mary. "Everyone, close your eyes." They obeyed, and the darkness of their eyelids suddenly went white. The light faded, and they opened their eyes. The Raticate were strewn all over, eyes wide.

"What happened?" said Ash.

"A whole flock of Mareep just used Flash. These Raticate will be out for a while. But I wonder what made them..."

"Hey! How dare you mess with our plans!" A group of black-clad figures had appeared just beyond the fallen Raticate.

"Team Rocket," said Chaud.

"What are you up to?" cried Ash.

"We're here to catch that brat, Dingo," said one of the strangers.

"Idiot! That's top secret!" said another, smacking him. "Now where is he?"

"Well, it seems we're not the only ones looking for that pokemon," said Megaman.

"You're not welcome here! Leave now!" said Mary.

"I don't think so! Go, Growlithe!" cried the stranger. An orange pokemon appeared, leaping forward.

"Megaman, Water Gun!" cried Lan. Megaman opened his mouth... and waited. Nothing happened.

"Look out, you idiot!" shouted Protoman, bowling him over. They rolled away and got up. The Growlithe's Flame Wheel attack had just barely missed them. It whirled about, forgetting the group behind it. This proved to be a mistake.

"Ring, Hidden Power!" Tiny balls of multi-colored energy soared through the air, slamming into Growlithe and sending it flying. It crashed into the Raticate and lay still.

"Gack! Okay, that's it! He's not here anyway!" cried a Team Rocket member. the group fled as fast as their legs could take them.

"And don't come back!" said Lan. The Raticate regained their senses and sat up, confused. After a few moments of quarreling among themselves, they left in the direction of the nearest forest.

"Nice attack, RIng," said Roll. Ring smiled.

"Why didn't you move?" Protoman hissed.

"I don't know, The attack didn't work," said Megaman. He sat down and started to pout.

"You expected something, didn't you?" said Roll.

"Yeah, so?" said Megaman.

"You're not supposed to. It works easier that way," said Roll.

"I'll keep that in mind..."

"Who's Dingo?" said Mary.

"He's working for Professor Birch and gathering data on a new pokemon," said Maylu. "Apparently it's attacked some cities in the Hoeen Region."

"Is it a legendary pokemon?" said Mary.

"We don't know yet," said Misty.

"But I can't wait to hear about it!" said Ash.

"Mary!" said Count Zap, walking out.

"Yes, Uncle Zap?" said Mary.

"I've made my decision! I'm going to Cerulean City, to visit Mr. Yahoot. I'll take Raichu and the Mareep, but you should take Elecman and go to Five Island. Maddy Is over there, and I want you to tell her about Ann."

"But why Elecman?" said Mary.

"Seeing as you haven't been feeling well recently, he can help you and Ring in case you get in any trouble," he said, picking up a Mareep.

"Okay..." Count Zap left without another word, with the mareep and Raichu trailing behind.

"I believe I've just been disowned," said Elecman.

"So now you're going to the Sevii Islands too? We can go together!" said Lan. Protoman and Roll groaned in unison. Obviously, Elecman wasn't very popular with them. Mary started to blush.

"Well I... Okay. I'm going to pack. You can sit inside if you want to," she said.

"Thanks," said Maylu. They sat again, and Mary vanished upstairs with Ring. They came down with a shoulder bag.

"I'm ready," she said hesitantly.

"Flying again?" said Lan, looking at Chaud.

"They need some exercise anyway," said Chaud, shrugging. Once they were outside and Mary had finished locking the door, he tossed the poke-balls. Kazul, Dragonite, Salmence, and a horned orange one with a fiery tail appeared.

"Charizard, the lizard pokemon. They fly around the world in search of powerful opponents. it breathes fire at very high temperatures, and its wings can take it almost 4,600 feet above the ground." Charizard didn't look very nice, so Megaman made a mental note not to avoid it as much as possible.

"You fly on Charizard this time," said Chaud, glaring at Lan. Lan, however, had gotten the same message as Megaman.

"No way. I swear that thing's gonna try to eat me!"

"Good riddance," Chaud muttered, getting onto Kazul. Lan got on behind him, and the two boys immediately began arguing loudly.

"Lan's right. That pokemon's nasty," said Ring, looking up at the Charizard, who snarled at them.

"What happened to its eye?" asked Mary. The arguers paused.

"What?" said Lan. Mary pointed. Now it was mentioned, Megaman could see a long thin scar reaching from the pokemon's nostrils to the base of its horn.

"You might say that I take in the outcasts," said Chaud. Ash looked thoughtful at this.

"Pika," said Pikachu, snapping him back to reality.

"Charizard isn't going to hurt anyone! Just ride it!"

"No way! That thing's going to fry us!" The bickering resumed and continued until Maylu politely suggested that they share Kazul like last time. Mary, Ring, and Elecman got onto Charizard unscathed, and they took off.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: A Day Off?

"What?" The group jumped, and Megaman glanced at Roll.

"Bad news?" Misty came back, shaking her head.

"Sorry guys, my sisters can't get another Rainbow Pass."

"You could take mine," said Ash, offering his ticket to Mary.

"Oh no, I couldn't!" she said.

"There's no need to, Ash. I'll just buy one," said Chaud, opening his bag.

"I don't want to trouble any of you, I can get my own," said Mary, starting to blush.

"But you already said you don't have money," said Lan.

"I don't have to go with you, I don't want to be a burden..." said Mary. Ring and Elecman glanced at the others.

"We have to stick together, right?" said Ring.

"That'd be a good idea, yeah," said Megaman.

"You buy it or I do," said Chaud.

"I'll pay, I'll get a job!" said mary.

"If you can get enough money in forty-eight hours..." said Chaud, checking his watch. Mary gave a little squeak and fled the pokemon center, with Ring and Elecman right behind her. They'd landed at their destination at sundown and immediately discovered that Mary didn't have money for a Rainbow Pass.

"Where's she going to find a job at this hour?" said Brock.

"Who knows?" said Chaud, shrugging. Maylu sighed and picked up her Espeon before sitting down on one of the chairs. She pulled out a brush and began to stroke Roll with it. Chaud brought his pokemon to Nurse Joy while the rest of them began to talk. Mary came back an hour later.

"Well?" said Misty.

"I got one. It's a one day thing, but the pay will cover a Rainbow Pass," said Mary, smiling.

"That's great!" said Ash.

"What're you going to do?" said Lan.

"I'm going to take care of pokemon eggs," said Mary. Megaman blinked and glanced at Protoman.

"But aren't pokemon mammals?"

"Just because we are doesn't mean they all are," said Protoman.

"How'd you manage to do that?" said Lan.

"Everyone else is going somewhere, so they need someone to take care of the eggs and baby pokemon," said Mary.

"Lucky timing," said Elecman. Mary, of course, didn't understand.

The next day, Mary, Ring, and Elecman were gone by the time the others woke up. They split up, agreeing to meet back at the place Mary was working. Ash wandered aimlessly through the streets, wondering what he could do to pass the time. Pikachu shifted its weight, and he looked around at it.

"Yeah, buddy?"

"Pikachu..."

"What's wrong?" said Ash, worried. Pikachu's ears and tail had drooped, and a melancholy look came over its face. It had no way to tell him what it thought about the strange new pokemon they'd met. Pokemon that sounded more human, and didn't understand what any others said... Pikachu wondered if they were even pokemon at all. Ash broke in on its thoughts as he said, "How about a battle?"

They had paused in a large, grassy park. Various other trainers and their pokemon were battling, and one was standing opposite Ash, a Heracross at their side. Pikachu immediately perked up. Its cheeks sparked, and Ash smiled.

"Okay, let's go!"

Misty and Brock stood at the dock.

"I doubt it's going to swim this time," said Brock.

"Shut up, Brock. Today is the day we're going to teach it how," she growled. She tossed her pokeballs into the air, and they watched as her pokemon appeared in the water. A Psyduck appeared just above the surface. Upon seeing the liquid below it, Psyduck panicked and tried to fly. Unfortunately its little arms were poor excuse for actual wings, and it splashed into the water. It resurfaced, still flapping as it wailed.

"PSY AY AAAAY!"

"Come on, Psyduck! Move your flippers!" Misty shouted. Either Psyduck ignored her, or it was causing too much of a ruckus to hear. "Aw, Psyduck..." The next second, Brock was totally soaked.

"Give me a little warning next time you jump in!" he cried. Misty chose not to respond and swam over to her pokemon. Goldeen and Horsea bobbed nearby, trying to keep it afloat while Togepi cheered from the side. Their attempts were in vain, and Misty was forced to pull out a flowered pink inter-tube. Psyduck splashed about like a playful child, and Misty sighed in embarrassment as a few sailors paused to laugh.

"Why can't it swim? It's a water type, for Pete's sake!"

"Some problems can never be solved," said Brock. He sounded solemn. This moment didn't last long, for he spotted a group of girls and ran off. "Ladies, hello! My name is Brock..." Misty followed him with a sour look on her face and one thought in her head-_ I've done this way too much._ One hand snaked out for Brock's ear as her voice rumbled...

"BROCK..."

Lan stretched with a yawn.

"Well, Megaman, what should we do? We don't have to meet the others until five o' clock..." Megaman padded beside him, staring at all the differently colored pokemon. It never occurred to him that the same kind of creature could look like a snake or a cow. In fact, they'd even passed a Vaporeon with bright green fins. Megaman began to wonder wether or not they were just viruses of some sort. Lan stopped, and Megaman accidently bumped into the back of his leg.

"Lan?" he said, looking up.

"I've got it! Let's go for ice cream!" said Lan, striking a triumphant pose. Megaman began to get excited. He'd often seen Lan eat ice cream through that tiny window to the human world. The idea of eating something like that (or anything, in that case) enthralled him. "Let's go!" cried Lan, charging. Megaman sprinted after him. The cement hurt his paws and he was buffeted by the crowd, but he kept the NetOp in sight. Lan dived to the right, into a small building. They skidded to a halt, and Megaman had to blink a few times.

The walls were a bright peach color, with multicolor swirls. The floor was a pastel rainbow, and the tables were made to look like ice cream treats. megaman was appalled. Why would Lan set foot in a place like this? The boy ordered two ice creams and they sat at a table near another boy with a Persian. A hot fudge sundae was placed under Megaman's nose. Lan began to eat his own while the NetNavi inspected them. Hot or cold, make up your minds... He took a bite and gasped as brainfreeze took hold. Lan sniggered.

"It's about to start again," said the boy near them, pointing upwards.

"Right on time," said Lan, pulling back his sleeve to check his watch. He looked expectantly at the ceiling. A whirring sound started, coming from above. Megaman looked up, and his jaw dropped. The ceiling was a swirl of ice cream or something restrained by thick glass. As the whirr started, the swirls moved in a circle, becoming almost a cyclone in the middle. A flip flop, a beach ball, and various other objects appeared and vanished.

"That," said Lan, "Is the best part about this place." Megaman watched the moving colors, eyes wide with wonder.

Maylu and Roll passed the ice cream shop without a glance. THey were on their way to some sort of club. Roll had no idea what kind of club it was, but trusted Maylu's decision on where to go. They entered a large building, and shouts reached their ears.

"Miss Sakurai! How nice to see you again! And how's Roll? Won any contests lately?" said and old man, walking over to them.

"We haven't been to any. How are you, sir?" said Maylu.

"I'm fine, fine," said the man. A group of children rand over and began to coo and pet Roll. She jumped, then held still.

"Maylu Sakurai? I didn't think you had the nerve to come back after that defeat," said a blond girl, walking over and sneering. Maylu glared.

"Shut up, Anevay."

"Ooh, is little Miss Pinky angry? I'm s scared!" the girl said in a sing-song voice. She began to laugh. Roll snarled, and the children backed away. The old man stepped in between them.

"Now now, girls, no fighting. It won't prove anything..."

"Nothing but the fact that I'm still better," said Anevay, pulling out a pokeball.

"That's a lie!" said Maylu.

"Hey!" roared a girl, running over. Roll recognized her at once. Sal, the flowershop owner, had come to intervene. No pokemon followed her, and Roll got a bad feeling. _Where's Woodman?_ The tenseness in the air loosened, and Anevay put away her pokeball.

"Saved by the flower lady. What a wimp." Sal shot the blond a venomous glare, and Anevay recoiled. It was obvious that no one dared oppose her.

"If all you're going to do is argue, leave."

"I was on my way to the Sevii Islands anyway. See you there, Sakurai," said Anevay, walking out the door. The old man relaxed.

"I was afraid you'd get into a battle or something," he admitted.

"Sorry, sir," said maylu, looking ashamed.

"Don't worry, a rival can sometimes do that to you," said Sal.

"But what's in the Sevii Islands that makes her want to go?" said Maylu.

"This," said Sal, handing her a flier. Maylu looked at it, and her eyes widened. Roll moved so she could see it better. A picture of a Milotic and Beautifly was prominent, with large words above it spelling out: SEVII ISLAND POKEMON CONTEST. Details were listed at the bottom.

"we're going to be in the Sevii Islands at the time, anyway," said Maylu, rereading the date.

"Just make sure you're levelheaded if you're going to do it. I doubt anyone will appreciate it if you decide to battle Anevay backstage," said Sal. Roll followed their conversation intently. A contest? A contest for what?

Chaud strode down the street, looking at nothing in particular and eyes sliding in and out of focus. Protoman scuttled behind him, cursing his tiny legs. Girls and children squealed at the sight of him, but both NetOp and NetNavi ignored them. They passed a post office for the third time that day, and Protoman's legs gave out. They just refused to budge, so he gave a yowl. Chaud stopped and turned around. As if sensing Protoman's predicament, he bent down and picked him up before continuing to walk.

"Wow, a Flareon!" cried a boy, running over. "Do you want to trade? I've got a Tyrannizer."

"No," said Chaud, looking daggers at him. Protoman growled at the stranger, who decided it was best to run before he could get singed. (Smart kid, eh?) THey went on in their walk, until Chaud stopped and sat on a bench. Protoman lay beside him, examining his paws and trying to keep his ruff out of his face. An hour passed, uneventful except for the three children that asked to pet Protoman. The Flareon looked up and noticed that Chaud was watching something. Following his gaze, he saw a group of people dressed in black, wearing masks that resembled devils. He didn't recognize them, and it seemed that neither did Chaud. Having nothing else to do, Protoman decided to try reminding him of something. Once again, he struggled with a word.

"Flaaa... reo... reelllooo..." Chaud looked down at him.

"What's wrong?"

"Recrooo... Crossflaaaarere..." Protoman's eye twitched furiously as he finally got the word out. "Crossfusion!"

"But there's no... no..." Chaud paused, a puzzled expression on his face, as if he'd forgotten the words. "What?" Protoman swelled up, confident that he'd brought back some sort of memory. Chaud's eyes went misty, and his head lolled to the side. Protoman leapt up.

"Chaud!" CHaud's jerked, and his head snapped back up. He blinked, then looked at Protoman.

"Is something wrong?" Protoman gaped at him. Then, for some reason unknown to him, he glanced at the group of masked people. They'd moved closer together and were watching them, whispering excitedly. Protoman jumped off the bench and scurried away. Chaud stood and followed, looking confused.

The group converged in front of a big blue building with a pokeball over the door.

"Are we sure this is it?" said Lan.

"Yeah, this is the address Mary wrote down," said Maylu, checking a slip of paper. Lan knocked on the door, and it flew open...


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: To the Sevii Islands!

Megaman's jaw dropped. A woman with a long black ponytail and green eyes stood in the doorway. She gave them the thumbs-up and said, "Hey, the name's Tamako. Welcome to the Pokemon Daycare Center! Did you want to drop off a pokemon?"

"Tamako! What a beautiful name! Oh my love, please, will you..." Before Misty could make any move to discipline Brock, Tamako pushed him away.

"Sorry, I've already got a boyfriend. Now, do you want us to raise a pokemon or not?"

"Uh, no. We're looking for our friend, Mary," said Ash. Tamako nodded.

"Oh yeah, Mary Towa. She's in the back," said she said. She gestured for them to follow. They trailed behind her as she stepped through the mess of toys on the floor.

"So Tamako got here as well. Do you think she's got Heavymetalman with her?" said Megaman.

"There's no way to tell, unless somebody like that... what did they call themselves? 'Team Rocket' shows up," said Roll.

"Team what?" said Protoman.

"Two idiots and their pet cat," said Elecman. "They tried to attack the Mareep, but the mouse thing kicked their butts." They fell silent as Tamako opened another door.

"She's right there." They peered in. Mary was sitting in a rocking chair, covered in baby pokemon and holding no less than five eggs in her lap. Ring was curled up with several Eevees and a Charmander. Both NetOp and Navi were fast asleep.

"Taking care of baby pokemon is never easy," said Maylu, smiling.

"She did really well, almost better than Miss Mari," said Tamako.

"Miss who?" said Lan.

"Miss Mari and her sister, Yuri, run this Daycare. I just make sure no thieves or anything get in," said Tamako. Lan nodded. Suddenly, there was a crashing sound. Mary and Ring woke up as some of the pokemon began to wail.

"Oh! Don't cry! Don't cry!" said Mary, running around and trying to comfort them.

"What was that?" said Chaud.

"We'll have to see," said Tamako, taking out a pokeball as she turned toward the door. A giant hole appeared in the ceiling, and the pokemon rose off the ground. Lan jumped inside and caught a writhing Dratini, then he and Mary lifted into the air. Within seconds, they had all been sucked through the hole.

"What just happened?" said Maylu.

"Let's find out," said Tamako. They ran outside and looked up. A giant hot air balloon hovered above the Daycare, with a large container attached to the bottom of the basket. Team Rocket was visible, laughing their heads off.

"Hey, what're you doing?" cried Ash.

"We're stealing the baby pokemon, that's what," said Jessie.

"Let them go, or we'll..." said Tamako.

"Do what?" said James. "Scare us off with that hideous face of yours?"

"Okay then, Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" said Ash. Pikachu jumped forward, followed by Elecman. Jessie and James laughed even harder.

"This time we didn't take any precautions against electricity," said Jessie.

"So, if you zap us, you hurt the babies and your little twerpy friends inside!" said Meowth. Elecman and Pikachu froze, the first growling menacingly.

"Then take this! Heavymetalman, I choose you!" cried Tamako, tossing the pokeball into the air. A huge grey pokemon appeared. It looked like a snake made of rocks, and its roar shook the ground. Ash's pokedex was the first to speak.

'Steelix, the evolved form of Onix. This pokemon is known to dig toward Earth's core, although only being able to reach six-tenths of a mile underground.'

"Heavymetalman, Iron Tail!" said Tamako. The Sleelix's tail glowed, and swung into the balloon, knocking the container away and popping the balloon in the process. Team Rocket was sent flying, disappearing into the distance.

"We're blasting off again...!"

"And don't come back!" Tamako called.

"Wow," said Ash, as Heavymetalman caught the container. He lowered it to the ground and tore off one of the sides. Lan, Mary, and Ring came out, accompanied by the rest of the pokemon.

"Lan!" said Megaman, running over.

"Are you okay?" said Chaud.

"Yeah, we're fine. It just got a little bumpy," said Lan.

"What's going on?" said a voice. They looked around. Ms. Mari and Ms. Yuri were walking over, holding small suitcases.

"Pokemon thieves," said Tamako.

"Oh no! Are they all okay?" said Ms. Mari.

"They're fine," said Lan. All of the baby pokemon ran over to the two newcomers.

"Here you go," said Tamako, handing a Rainbow Pass to Mary. "Here's your payment for watching the pokemon."

"Thank you!" said Mary, smiling.

"The ship leaves tomorrow," said Maylu.

"Great!" said Lan. Megaman and the other NetNavis walked over to Heavymetalman.

"Heavymetalman! Do you know what's going on?" he asked. The Steelix looked down at them.

"Steeeeeeeelll..."

"He doesn't remember us," said Elecman. They were silent.

"When will this end?" Megaman whispered. "I miss our world."

"You're not the only one," said Ring.

The next day, Megaman woke in the pokeball. He came out, having mastered that ability at last. The group was waiting in a line.

"Hey, Megaman. Sorry, I didn't want to wake you up," said Lan. Megaman glanced at the head of the line, which wasn't very far ahead. A large sailor was checking passes.

"Exactly what are we expecting to find, in the Sevii Islands?" said Ring. Mary was holding her in an awkward position, so her voice was uneven. Chaud leaned closer to her and said something. Mary flushed pink and adjusted Ring.

"I'm not too sure. But all of us have somehow been directed to that place, so I'm guessing something is hidden there that we have to find," said Megaman.

"All Maylu's talking about is a contest," said Roll. Protoman cleared his throat. The sailor was next to them.

"Do you have Rainbow Passes?" he asked. They all held out their passes. He checked them over, then his eyes rested on Misty. "Oh, you're the one with that Psyduck that's scared of water, right?" Misty glowered as the sailor walked away, laughing.

"Why is your Psyduck afraid of water?" said Lan.

"It can't swim," said Ash. The next second, he was getting a vicious noogie from the redhead.

"All aboard SEAGALLOP HI-SPEED 7!" the sailor called at last. They all rushed onto the little ship. "Everybody, hang on tight!" said the sailor, getting on as well. Chaud gripped the railing tightly and lowered himself, cradling Protoman close to him.

"What're you doing?" said Lan.

"I suggest you do the same thing. This is one of the fastest boats in the world," said Chaud. All of them but Lan did as they were told.

"Sure. I know it's fast, but there's no way it'll..."

"Charge!" cried the sailor. They suddenly shot forward. Lan was knocked off his feet and skidded down the deck. Luckily, someone caught him before he could fall off. After three hours of breakneck speed, the boat slowed. "Welcome, my friends, to One Island," said the sailor. A gangplank was lowered, and they tottered off.

"I must admit... You were right this time, Chaud," said Lan.

"I never want to go on one of those again," said Maylu.

"We'll have to, in order to get home," said Mary. They regained their breath.

"Well, this is where we split up. Bye, you guys. I'm going to find Lorelei," said Maylu. She ran off.

"Do you guys have somewhere to stay?" said Mary.

"No, not really. I was hoping we could find a Pokemon Center," said Brock.

"Here," said Mary, handing them a slip of paper. "Tamako said that her friends will sometimes help people out, so it's worth a try. I have to find Maddy... Bye!" she vanished after Maylu.

"So, it's just us now," said Lan, looking at the remaining group.

"Not quite," said Chaud, walking away. Megaman stared as the last NetOp left. Alone again...

"What's written on there?" said Lan, leaning close to get a better look at the paper.

"Sevault Canyon, Pride and Tora. Look for Aggrons, Luxrays, and a dancing Chansy," said Brock, reading the paper aloud.

"Luxray?" said Ash, holding up his pokedex. This time it said something Megaman didn't expect.

'Pokemon unknown.'

"But how can that be?" said Ash. He hesitated, then looked up at Lan. "Do you think that's what Dingo was trying to find?"

"We can always ask, I guess," said Lan.

"How will we get to Sevault Canyon, though? It's on Seven Island," said Misty. A woman paused nearby.

"There's a man with a lot of Lapras that comes around every day to ferry people to the other islands. He should be here soon," she said.

"Okay, thanks," said Ash.

"In the meantime..." said Lan, making a beeline for a small ice cream stand. Megaman and Pikachu sat down on a bench to wait, while the trainers ordered the ice cream.

"So, if there was something hidden on of of these islands, where do you think it would be, and what?" said Megaman, looking over at the electric mouse.

"Pika?" it replied. Megaman sighed. He should've known better than to ask the opinion of a pokemon. He tilted so he was standing on his hind paws, and realized how much effort an animal had to put into it. Nonetheless, he hopped off the bench and wobbled over to where Lan stood.

"Megaman? What're you doing?" said the boy, blinking at him.

"Neneneneneeeee," said Megaman, trying to speak again.

"Aw, he looks so cute," said Misty. Megaman kept trying.

"Neneneeeetooooo!"

"Is Megaman having a nervous breakdown?" said Brock.

"I don't know," said Lan, kneeling down.

"NETTO BAKA!" Megaman screamed, toppling over backwards. Lan caught him before he could hit the ground.

"'Baka?' I have the feeling I've been called that several times..."

"Megaman can talk?" said Ash.

"He's only ever said 'Netto,' and I don't understand what that is," said Lan.

"I'm afraid we can't help you there," said Misty. Any further sound on Megaman's part was drowned out by a shout.

"All aboard for Two Island and onward!" A man with long grey hair was waving from his perch on a huge blue pokemon.

'Lapras, the transport pokemon. this pokemon is very gentle, yet has been hunted almost to extinction. It will ferry people across water,' said the pokedex.

"Look at all of them!" said Lan, staring at the huge group of blue pokemon.

"Hop on, they won't bite," said the old man. Megaman looked up at Lan.

"Don't fall for it, Lan. That's Captain Kurohige, or what's-his-name, from the Beyondard!" he said.

"Okay, old man. Where to first?" said Lan, hopping off the dock and onto the Lapras, accidentally dropping his ice cream.

"Don't call me that. And we'll see where everyone's going, first," said Kurohige. Ash, Pikachu, and the others got on as well, and they looked expectantly at Megaman.

"Come on," said Lan, holding out his arms. Megaman sat down and turned his head, pretending not to notice them. "Do you want to swim there or something?" said Lan.

"I suggest you don't. Most places around the Sevii Islands have a dangerously fast current. We've had deaths already," said Kurohige.

"Megaman, return," said Lan, holding up the pokeball. Megaman hadn't been expecting this, and was trapped in the pokeball with a yelp.

"Looks like you're the only ones today," said Kurohige, looking around. He clapped his hands together, and the Lapras group moved away from shore.

"I had a Lapras once," said Ash.

"Really? What happened to it?" said Lan.

"I let it leave with its family. I'm sure I'll see it again, though," said Ash. A while later, the Lapras stopped in front of another dock. Lan jumped up again and watched the people moving around on shore.

"Seven Island!" said Kurohige.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Kidnap

Dingo inhaled sharply as his shoe caught a small rock. Tomahawkman looked up at the sound, and Cyndaquil halted. Dingo sighed.

"Its okay... sorry, guys," he said. He held the camera higher and continued. They'd found a small group from Team Rocket and driven them off, only to find a small cave entrance. Dingo felt that this would be the perfect place for the mysterious pokemon to hide, so they'd been searching there for a few hours.

There was a sound up ahead, and Dingo quickly hid behind a corner with the two pokemon. Cyndaquil's light dimmed, and Tomahawkman dared to glance around. He froze, eyes widening. After several terrified seconds, he forced himself to move. Dingo looked down as the Marowak tugged on his sweatshirt, making whimpering noises.

"Is it there?" To Tomahawkman's horror, the boy looked around the corner and got the same expression as his Navi. Something seized DIngo by the hood and jerked him up into the air. He struggled against his captor's grip, but whoever it was shook him until he was still.

"All right, human... You're going to tell me what I want to know," they said. Dingo raised the camera and took a picture. The captor knocked it out of his hand. Dingo looked down at Tomahawkman as he let his remaining pokeballs fall from his hand.

"T-Tomahawkman, run...!"

"Megaman was let out of the pokeball about an hour later, feeling quite upset. They were standing outside a small, rickety house.

"We're looking for Chansys, Aagrons, and Luxrays," said said Lan, looking around.

"What's an Aagron again?" said Ash.

"It's a big steel-type pokemon, similar to a Rhydon. They're usually found in the Hoeen Region," said Brock.

"So in other words, the people here are travelers," said Lan. Ash ran to the door and knocked three times.

"Hello! Is anyone in there?" he called. There was a loud crash that seemed to come from the back, and a shout.

"Ha! Checkmate!" Megaman looked up at this. No, it couldn't possibly be... And yet, it was. The world-famous Chess Netbattler came around the side of the house, followed by what looked like a black and blue cat with yellow eyes and a star at the tip of its tail.

"Hey there! I'm Tora. Who are you?" said the human, grinning widely at them. Ash launched into introductions and explanations, while Megaman walked over to the other pokemon.

"...Kingman? Is that you?"

"Yes," said Kingman. "And you, of course, are Megaman."

"Yeah. Boy, am I glad to see you! The question is getting a little old, but do you know exactly what's going on?" said Megaman.

"Well, Knightman looks like a dinosaur and the princess of Brightland is running around with a pickaxe... Tora remembers nothing except my name and how to play chess, and there's something called a Pokemon Ranger lurking nearby," said Kingman.

"Have you seen anything out of the ordinary?" said Megaman. Kingman was quiet for a few moments before answering.

"Megaman. Have you noticed that you have fins on your head and a tail suspiciously similar to a mermaid's?"

"Yes I have, actually. I meant, have you seen anything that looks like it could have something to do with a criminal organization?" said Megaman.

"So far, no. Why, are you expecting Grave to be behind all this?" said Kingman.

"No, something a bit more... frightening? Advanced?" said Megaman.

"The scariest thing I've seen so far is Pride when she loses her temper," said Kingman.

"Loses her temper? What do you mean by that?" said Megaman.

"Exactly what I said. Tora has a special hiding place behind the china cupboard for those times," said Kingman. Meanwhile, Tora was speaking again.

"Oh, so Tamako sent you here? Well, we haven't had any visitors in ages, right, Kingman?" he said.

"...What you said..." said Kingman.

"Here, I'll introduce you to my partner. Hey! Pride! Get over here!" Tora shouted. A clang rent the air. "Pride, hurry up!" said Tora.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Princess Pride came around the corner as well, with a smudged face and messy clothes. A huge metal-type pokemon came after her. It lowered itself down in order to view the other pokemon better.

"Hi, Knightman," said Megaman, recognizing the symbol on its pendant.

"Greetings," said Knightman. They didn't have a chance to say anything else because Lan lifted Megaman into the air and followed the others inside the house. The first thing that registered in Megaman's head once he was set down was the fact that a big, fat, pink..._thing..._ had been dumped in the way of his vision. He tapped the object lightly, and it spun around. _God in heaven, this pillow has eyes! _ he thought, bewildered. It apparently had a mouth as well, because it squealed, "Chansy!" before dancing away. As the poor vaporeon tried to recover from this shock, the humans sat around a table.

"It looks like a chess board," said Misty, observing the tabletop.

"Tora's a professional chess-player," said Pride, watching Brock with apprehension. Misty noticed this and seized his ear before he could say a word.

"Most of the time we're in the ruins. Pride's determined to find some sort of rare pokemon," said Tora.

"There are Unknown in those caves. Don't try to tell me you didn't see that one..." said Pride, jabbing his arm.

"Hey, have you seen someone named Dingo around here?" said Lan.

"Dingo? Oh yeah, this guy?" said Tora, holding up a paper. Lan squinted at the picture on it.

"Yeah, that's him."

"Well, he went missing about two weeks ago. Went up to Mt. Ember and never came back. All they found was his camera," said Tora. Megaman looked up, alarmed.

"He's missing?" said Ash.

"Do I need to say it twice?" said Tora.

"Where's Mt. Ember?" said Lan.

"What, are you going to try to rescue him yourself? No offense, but I doubt you can do anything about it. Besides, they've already got a Pokemon Ranger working on it," said Pride. "He's actually kinda cute, too." At this, Brock whimpered slightly and slumped in his chair.

"We can't just sit around, he could be hurt or something!" said Ash.

"Yeah!" said Lan.

"Oh, we can tell your type from miles away," said Pride.

"You're the kind of people who fancy yourselves as heroes. Try getting some training before you jump into things," said Tora.

"We've been training a long time!" said Ash. Pikachu nodded loyally.

"Yeah, there's nothing Megaman and I can't handle!" said Lan. Megaman nodded too. Tora and Pride just sat there and stared. And stared. And stared. They stared until the silence pressed in on them like they were far underwater.

"What?" said Lan.

"Your friend," said Pride.

"Your problem," said Tora.

"Come on, Lan, we can do it on our own! Let's go rescue Dingo!" said Ash. The two of them grabbed their pokemon again and were almost out the door when Misty grabbed them

"You guys, we just got here. At least stay the night before you go and get lost."

"Fine," said Ash.

"But..." said Lan, but Ash cut him off.

"Honestly, you can't win an argument with her if you don't prepare for it. It's easier to give up now and come back to it later."

The next day, Megaman was up bright and early, but not early enough to catch Pride and Tora as they left. The fat pink 'Chansy' waddled over to him and excitedly tried to teach him something he would later call the Chansy Dance. He gave up on this after a short while and merely sat on one of the chairs, watching as the sun slowly travelled higher into the sky.

There was a sudden, loud thump, accompanied by a groan. Mumbling followed, and he knew that the humans had woken up. It was probably Lan that had fallen out of bed. They came out later, fully dressed. Lan and Ash seemed equally deprived of sleep, and Megaman wondered whether or not they'd stayed up the whole night trying to create a plan.

"Hey, where's Tora and Pride?" said Brock. Misty leaned close to a note taped to the fridge.

"'We've headed off to work. The Ranger will be heading back soon, so you can ask him how to get to Mt. Ember.'"

"Great," said Lan.

"We should probably head back to the docks. Maybe we'll meet the ranger on the way," said Ash.

"Good idea. Come on, Megaman," said Lan. Megaman sighed, then followed the group out the door.

"Hey Brock?" said Ash. "What does a Pokemon Ranger look like?"

"I think they usually dress in black and red," said Brock.

"So, just look for anybody wearing those colors," said Lan. He paused for a moment before saying, "Hey, does that mean Chaud's a Pokemon Ranger?"

"Somehow, I doubt that," said Misty.

Upon arriving at the docks, they learned that Captain Kurohige wouldn't be arriving for another half-hour. They didn't mind, seeing as they had no idea where they were going. They asked around, but the Ranger hadn't shown up in town recently. The group ended up sitting on a bench, trying to pick out red and black in the crowd.

"This is impossible..." Ash groaned, hanging his head in defeat.

"Don't give up yet! Who knows, he might find us!" said Lan.

"Why should he? It's not like he knows us," said Ash.

"Pride thought he was cute. maybe they're dating and she's told him about us," said Misty. Brock sank even lower at this thought. Megaman looked up as a shadow was cast over him. He blinked in surprise.

"Excuse me," said the the stranger. "Are you the ones who were asking for a Ranger?"

"Yeah, we are," said Misty. The person nodded.

"My name is Raika, and I'm a Pokemon Ranger. what did you need help with?"

"You look awfully familiar..." said Lan, glaring at the older boy.

"We've never met," said Raika. Megaman began to study Raika's appearance, hoping for some sign of a pokeball that could contain Searchman. He had no such luck, however.

"We're friends of Dingo's. We wanted to help find him," said Ash.

"Yeah. Where's Mt. Ember?" said Lan.

"Mt. Ember isn't the sort of place you should go alone. You need to stick to the trail and stay with your guide... Something your friend neglected to do. Almost no one is being allowed near Mt. Ember due to the disappearances that have been occurring, so you couldn't go there even if I told you," said Raika.

"But you're a Pokemon Ranger! Surely, if you act as our guide, we'll be allowed in?" said Misty.

"Absolutely not," said Raika.

"Oh, come on, Laika!" said Lan.

"What was that?" said Raika, looking surprised.

"Please?" said Lan.

"No, what did you call me?"

"Raika, why? That's your name, isn't it?" said Lan. Raika shook his head.

"Fine, fine... I'll take you to Mt. Ember, but it'll take a while to gain entry. You'll have to find something to do one One Island..." He sounded flustered, though the others didn't really know why. Megaman tilted his head to the side.

"Laika and Netto... Both of those names hold some sort of significance... They sound familiar, but I just can't put my finger (oops, I mean paw) on it..." he whispered to himself.

Captain Kurohige arrived shortly, and they all made it to One Island, the place they'd first ended up. Raika told them to go find something to do, and walked away in search of the Ranger in charge. Brock immediately saw a poster for a pokemon contest and pulled them towards the event. Misty said that he was hoping to meet an old friend again.

Once they arrived at the contest arena, they located seats and waited among the gathering crowd. Brock didn't seem to have any luck finding his friend, and rejoined them as the lights dimmed. A woman came out on stage with a microphone. Her entrance was greeted with loud cheers and applause. Once everyone calmed down, she spoke.

"Welcome to the annual One Island Pokemon Contest!" (More cheering) "Today's contestants are as follows..." She began to call off names. As each trainer was introduced, they walked onto the stage and stood behind her. The group swelled to about fifteen trainers.

"It's not the most popular of contests," Brock observed.

"Oh?" said Lan, who obviously had never been to one.

"Yeah. Usually there's about twenty five or so," said Brock. Megaman tried to ignore them, choosing instead to watch the contestants. A familiar person was the last to enter, and he knew exactly who it was. Lan spotted them at the same time.

"Oh no! It's..."

"Maylu Sakurai!" cried the announcer.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Photograph

Maylu beamed at the audience as her name was announced. A familiar thrill of excitement coursed through her as she scanned the crowd. Loreli was sitting in the front row, clapping and smiling almost as widely as she. Maylu's eyes roved the stands as she got in line.

Horror clutched at her heart as she spotted the bane of her existence. Lan Hikari was sitting near the back with his vaporeon balanced on his lap. he appeared to be complaining to the person next to him, whom she recognized as Ash. Her hands curled into fists.

'He won't mess it up this time,' she thought determinedly.

The announcer finished her speech, and the contestants filed offstage.

"I really don't like her," Lan growled.

"Why not? She seems pretty nice," said Misty.

"Lan grunted and turned his attention to the first appeal.

"I don't want to talk about it..."

Maylu sat on one of the benches, stroking Roll's fur as she concentrated on the task ahead.

"Hey there, Sakurai."

"Anevay..." Maylu growled. Her rival stood in front of her, grinning.

"I see you made it after all. So, who was that guy you were glaring at?"

"None of your business," said Maylu.

"Oh, I see. You had a fight with your boyfriend!" Anevay laughed.

"How dare you? That guy is rude, selfish, loud, ungrateful..."

"YOU are loud," said another contestant. Maylu shut her mouth, blushing angrily.

"Never accuse me of having anything to do with him ever again," she hissed. Anevay snorted with mirth before leaving.

"All of this is seriously out of whack..." Roll muttered to herself.

Lan and the others clapped as a blond girl made her way onstage and brought out her Persian.

"Hey Pikachu," said Megaman. Ash's mouse pokemon looked down at him.

"Pi?"

"What do you think happened to Dingo?"

"Pika..." The Pikachu had a bemused expression on its face. Megaman remembered that the normal pokemon couldn't understand him and gave up. He lay down and allowed his mind to wander.

There was a bright flash and he jumped. Once his eyesight returned to normal, he noticed that sparkles were drifting down all around. Maylu and Roll were onstage, bowing. The judges scored their performance as the audience cheered.

"That was amazing!" said Misty.

"Too bright..." said Ash, rubbing his eyes.

"What happened? I didn't catch it," said Lan.

"Pikaaaa..." Pikachu had also been blinded. Megaman supported the poor thing so it wouldn't fall to the floor, and they waited. The crowd roared again a few moments later, drowning out the sound of the announcer's voice. Megaman looked up at the giant screen that hung over the stage. Maylu and Roll were in the final four teams.

"Up first is the battle between Anevay and Ridge!" the woman cried.

"Battle?" said Ash and Lan in unison, glancing at Brock.

"The final rounds are decided by battles, during which you try to show off your pokemon's strength and beauty at the same time," said Brock.

"Oh..." said Ash.

"Well, now I know for sure that I'll never enter one of these contests. Megaman and I aren't 'pretty,'" said Lan.

Megaman had no comment. The contest battle was... very flashy, to say the least. Anevay and her Persian seemed to enjoy using Flash attack and Pay Day. As much as Megaman detested them in the end, they managed to knock out their opponent and move on to the final round. The announcer was reading a piece of paper as she spoke into the microphone.

"Next up... Wait a minute, I've just received word that Bella is unable to take part in the battles... something about the last boat to the mainland... Therefore, we'll now have our final round, Anevay versus Maylu!"

Ash and the others cheered loudly with the rest of the crowd, but Lan didn't move a muscle. Maylu and Anevay ran onstage.

"Go, Persian!"

"Go, Roll!"

As soon as her paws touched the ground, Roll was charging. the Persian used its tail to whip the Espeon into the air. Roll landed lightly as Maylu cried, "Psybeam!"

It was a direct hit, and Anevay's points went down. Roll was strong and fast, but the Persian was good with defense. With each blocked attack, Maylu's points decreased. They were tied and time was almost up when Maylu said, "Hidden Power!"

There was another flash. Megaman recovered a little faster this time, to see that the Persian had fainted. The announcer lifted Maylu's arm into the air and cried, "The winner of this year's One Island Pokemon Contest is Maylu Sakurai!"

A while later, the group emerged into the sunlight.

"It took forever to get out of there!" Lan groaned.

"At least we did. Hey, where's that Raika guy?" said Ash.

"Our best bet would be the Pokemon Center," said Brock. He led the way out of the chattering crowd.

One Island's Pokemon Center was almost twice as wide as a regular one, located right smack dab in the middle of the residential area. Half of the inside was inhabited by an enormous blue machine. Before any of them could ask what it was, Brock was reading from the guidebook.

"This is a machine that maintains a connection to the mainland. It was built by the mastermind Celio, one of Professor Oak's old assistants..."

"Okay, whatever," said Lan. He walked up to the desk and said, "Hey, Nurse Joy. Could you have a look at my vaporeon? It's been a while since he's had a checkup."

"Of course," said the nurse, smiling.

"Megaman, return," said Lan. Megaman retreated into the pokeball and was handed over to Nurse Joy. It didn't take long. Almost at once Megaman was restored to full health, and was given back to Lan. He was let out again as Lan thanked the nurse.

"Out of the way." A foot connected with his side.

"Hey!" cried Ash. Lan looked around.

"What was that for?" he said. Anevay looked to be in a bad mood.

"Your stupid fish is in the way," she said.

"He's three feet out of the way!" said Lan, gesturing angrily at his pokemon. Maylu walked in and froze.

"You again?" she said. Something registered in Anevay's mind. She leaned close to Lan and said, "Your girlfriend just won the contest. Why don't you take the chance to take her out for ice cream or something?"

"MY WHAT?" said Lan.

"EXCUSE ME?" said Maylu. Anevay slipped away- her work there was done. Lan and Maylu began to argue loudly over what she'd said.

"Both of them are denying that they're going out..." said Roll, sitting down next to Megaman.

"But if they're both saying the same thing, why are they fighting?" he asked. The pair sighed.

"Excuse me for interrupting..." Lan and Maylu shot backwards, both screaming something along the same lines.

"WTF when did you get here?"

"Who the heck are you?" Raika stood, unperturbed, in the place they'd been arguing.

"Raika! Did we get permission?" said Ash.

"I am allowed to take you around Mt. Ember, but not on the mountain itself. There are some strange activities going on there, so the Rangers are investigating," said Raika.

"Well, that's better than nothing," said Ash. "When do we leave?"

"Once the group is gathered, you can meet me at the docks," said Raika. He walked out.

"You're going to Mt. Ember?" said Maylu.

"Yeah. We're going to try to find Dingo," said Brock.

"Than we're coming too. Right, Mary?" said Maylu. Unnoticed by anyone during the ruckus, Mary glanced worriedly over the top of her Pokemon Journal.

"O-okay..."

"Awesome!" said Misty. Lan groaned. Ring and Elecman walked over to Roll and Megaman.

"Isn't this great? We're teaming up again!" said Roll.

"Yeah. The only thing that could make this better is if Chaud and Protoman show up by some insane miracle," said Ring. She looked expectantly at the door. "Dang," she said after a while. "Usually they miraculously appear when I say that."

"Thank God they didn't. That stupid pompom is still trying to kill me," said Elecman.

"Don't call him that, and maybe you'll get along," said Megaman.

"No thanks. I don't want to be friends with that gray haired shark wannabe..." said Elecman. With a cry of rage, Ring attacked him.

"Why would he be a shark wannabe?" said Megaman.

"That fin thing on his head," said Roll.

"Oh... and here I thought it was supposed to be some sort of horn..."

"The world may never know..."

They assembled at a small dock which, curiously enough, had no boats. They waited in silence.

"We're all here..." said Lan. "Aren't we leaving?"

"No, there's one more," said Raika, checking his watch.

"One more?" Misty repeated.

"Correct. I was permitted to take you around Mt. Ember, but only if I observed certain conditions. I have to get you there by some means, for example. The boats are unavailable, Kurohige is busy, and Searchman can't carry all of you over there..." Megaman and the other pokemon perked up.

'So, Searchman is a pokemon that can carry us to another part of the islands... Does that mean...' Megaman got a mental picture of a Lapras-Searchman and snorted.

"So this person has a pokemon that can swim us over there?" said Lan.

"It's more like flying," said Raika. There was a crunching sound, the telltale kind of crunch that told them that someone had halted on a gravel path. Everyone looked around.

"What did I tell you? He was just a little late, that's all," said Ring.

"Chaud!" said Lan.

"You again?" said Chaud. He didn't sound very enthusiastic. Protoman was at his side, looking only slightly happier about the situation.

"We're losing daylight," said Raika. Chaud sighed and tossed his pokeballs into the air. The dragon pokemon came out, and the trainers got on. Raika took out a pokeball of his own, thought this one was an odd green color.

"Searchman." What came out was a green thing resembling a preying mantis crossed with a dinosaur. It also had a pendant around its neck, this one displaying Searchman's navimark.

Raika hopped on, and it flew into the air. The dragons followed his lead. For a long time all they could see was the water below and a few large rocks that broke the surface. Then, another island came into view. This one was awfully rocky, smoky and glowing. They skirted this formation and went back over the water to a smaller island. They landed on a beach, outside a cave. The sun was setting.

"Did we pass Mt. Ember?" said Maylu, squinting at the glowing mountain in the distance.

"Yes. We're going to stay in here for the night," said Raika, jabbing a finger at the cave.

"Why'd we come now? Why not sleep at a Pokemon Center and get started tomorrow?" said Brock.

"The man in here is having a little trouble with some violent water pokemon, and I was sent here to smooth it over. This is the only chance I had of bringing you here," said Raika. They walked into the cave. The place was huge, and lit with a warm yellow glow. An elderly man stood next to a set of steps, bowing as they entered.

"Wonderful, you're here," he said.

"Where are they?" said Raika. The man led him up the stairs and out of sight. The rest of the group stood awkwardly in the sand.

"So, Chaud, you're tagging along too?" said Lan.

"Call it what you will," said Chaud. "The Rangers have made the picture public, and it piqued my curiosity."

"Picture?" Lan said dimly. Chaud took something out of his pocket. Megaman and the others leaned closer to get a better look.

The image was mostly black. The flash of the camera had failed to light much- except that it had reflected off of three things. The first two were obviously eyes, red and fierce. The third was something oddly blue. All three were blurred, and had a kind of glowing effect.

"What is that supposed to be?" said Ash.

"No one knows, but it was the last picture Dingo took," said Chaud.

"It seems oddly familiar," said Lan, squinting at it.

"Precisely," said Chaud. They looked up at him, confused.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I've shown this picture to many people, and come up with a group who think they've seen it before. All of those people have pokemon wearing pendants, and all of these pokemon seem to have been acting strangely lately. Perhaps this is the pokemon Dingo was following, and perhaps it only appears to certain people, like the legendary pokemon do..." said Chaud.

"Dingo had a marowak with a pendant," said Lan. Chaud nodded.

"And so does Raika's Searchman." Megaman glanced at the other navis.

"Well, they've finally figured out that we're connected," said Elecman. "Maybe now they'll be more reluctant to split up. Safety in numbers, after all." The conversation was interrupted by a stampede of water pokemon leaving the cave.

"They look upset," said Brock. There was a roar. A gyarados was slithering after them too. Misty screamed, and they all jumped to the sides of the cave. The gyarados passed within inches of them. It managed to squeeze through the entrance and vanished into the gathering darkness. Raika, Searchman, and the elderly man came down the steps.

"Well, that's that," said Raika.

"Thank you so much," said the man. "You can all rest here for the night, if you'd like."

"Thank you," said Raika. The man walked back up the stairs. Raika sat down in the sand, and Searchman walked over to the pokemon.

"What are you supposed to be?" said Elecman.

"A scyther. Now, what have you found out so far?" said Searchman.

"Nothing except the fact that a weird pokemon is attacking us," said Megaman.

"It's not the only one. A group called 'Team Aqua' is showing a lot of interest in Raika, and no one can figure out why," said Searchman.

"Did they send that pokemon?" said Roll. Searchman shrugged.

"Who knows?"

"But it wouldn't' hurt to investigate," said Ring. The others nodded. Meanwhile, the humans had just finished explaining Chaud's findings to Raika. The Ranger thought it over carefully.

"I'll radio it in. Maybe one of the other Rangers knows what's happening," he said, standing again. "You all get some sleep. We're going to see Mt. Ember tomorrow."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: A Scare for Megaman

When he woke up, Megaman was bored. Something about the heat from the sand kept him from going back to sleep, but the sun was far from rising. He trotted in a circle, thinking about the past events.

1. He and many other navis were turned into 'pokemon.'

2. Their NetOps had no idea who or what they really were.

3. One of their number had suffered an unknown fate.

5. 'Team Aqua' was after Raika.

6. There were strange names like 'Netto' and 'Laika' cropping up.

7. What happened to number four?

8. Was he just going insane?

Megaman paused to contemplate the last one, allowing the sound of someone stirring to go unnoticed. The vaporeon jumped as Lan mumbled in his sleep.

"Password... I don't know..."

"Idiot," said Chaud. He had apparently been awake for a while, because he didn't sound tired at all. It looked like he was thinking hard, and his voice was bitter. Protoman watched him, stoic as ever.

Chaud stood up and headed up the stairs, Protoman at his heels. Megaman glanced at Lan, then followed. Protoman obviously spotted him, but made no attempt to stop him. They ended up in the middle of a hot springs. Chaud rested his elbows on the rim of one of the baths, leaning over the water to glare at his reflection.

"Who is that person?" he asked himself, sounding more frustrated than ever. Megaman peered over the edge of the pool. All he saw was Chaud's reflection. He glanced at Protoman, who'd done the same on the boy's other side.

"What's he talking about?" he asked.

"No idea. He'll start grumbling about it once in a while, say 'Blues,' and then forget the whole thing," said Protoman.

"Blues? That's another word to add to my Suspicious List," said Megaman. Chaud looked at both of them.

"You know, don't you? Who is Blues?" he asked. The navis had no answer to give, so stayed silent. Chaud went back to staring at the water.

Without warning, he went limp, causing his torso to be dunked into the water. Megaman and Protoman cried out in shock, and they heard something from the place the humans were sleeping. Protoman seized Chaud's vest in his teeth and pulled. Unfortunately, the body of a flareon wasn't strong enough to pull him out.

Megaman dived in on pure instinct. The PokeDex was right- he could breathe underwater. He tried to push Chaud out, but he'd jumped in too fast- the sudden heat was making him dizzy.

Two pairs of hands grabbed Chaud by the shoulders and wrenched him out. Megaman resurfaced and leaped onto dry land. The air felt much colder now that he'd left the water's warmth. All of the humans were gathered around Chaud, who was sopping wet.

"Was he trying to commit suicide?"

"Shut up! For all we know, he might have a serious illness!"

"Maybe narcolepsy?"

"He's not breathing!" The last sentence came from Protoman. Megaman felt like a big icy cold hand had grasped his heart. The idea of Chaud dying, now of all times, was terrifying. It meant that in this world, although the humans and navis could interact and even touch, they could not protect their NetOps.

There was a cough; a gagging sound, and ragged breathing. Warmth rushed back into Megaman, and he felt he might collapse, so great was his relief. Chaud was alive after all. Mentally he berated himself for thinking that Chaud of all people would die so easily.

"Blues! I've got it! I finally understand it! I've got the password!" Chaud cried.

"Password to what?" said Lan. A look of surprise flitted across Chaud's face.

"Excuse me?"

"What's the password for?" said Lan. Chaud was still for a minute. Megaman noticed with surprise that his eye color was changing from purple to blue, and back again.

"I... don't... know..." he forced out at last. The others looked like he'd told them he'd dug up the continent of Atlantis, only to accidentally drop it in the ocean again.

"What a let down," Lan growled. "And here I thought you found something interesting..." Chaud was looking at his feet in bewilderment.

"I'm positive Chaud had it, the way out of here. We'd all be back to normal if whoever it is would stop interfering," said Protoman. Chaud turned his gaze to them.

"You believe me, right?" Both of them nodded fervently. Chaud seemed satisfied with this.

Apart from the fact that the humans now thought Chaud to be semi-insane, things went smoothly. They all flew to the other side of the island Mt. Ember rested upon, and landed on the beach.

"This is Kindle Road," Raika announced, as the dragon pokemon returned to their pokeballs.

"That's Mt. Ember, right?" said Ash, pointing at the smoking colossus. His pikachu imitated this action cheerfully.

"Quite obviously," said Raika. He led the way into the tall grass. They went two by two, trying not to lose sight of their teal-haired leader. Lan and Maylu had been forced to walk together. Both were looking in the opposite direction and seemed determined to convince the other that they were ignoring them. Megaman and Roll had their hands full trying to keep them on the trail.

"So," said Lan, glancing back at Chaud. "Did you remember what the password is for yet?"

"Shut up, Hikari," was the response.

"Sourpuss..." Lan grumbled. Megaman nudged him back in the right direction. Elecman glanced up.

"Hey Ring."

"Yeah?"

"I know you like Protoman, but does Mary have a crush on Chaud?"

"...Why do you ask?"

"She looks like a tomato." This earned Elecman yet another beating. Chaud eyed the two doubtingly.

"It seems that your Jolteon doesn't get along very well with other pokemon," he observed.

"He still thinks he's in charge of the flock back home, so he's trying to push them around. The difference between the mareep and pokemon like Ring is that other pokemon don't appreciate it," said Mary. The line halted. Ash, who stood next to Raika, asked, "What's wrong?"

"Wait until they pass," said Raika. A rapidash and an infant pointy came into view. They stared at the humans for a moment, then vanished again. The group pressed on. Raika took great care to avoid the area around Mt. Ember. They scoured the rest of the island and ended up empty handed.

"Seriously, where could he be?" said Misty.

"We don't know. That's why we're looking," said Raika. Megaman noticed that Lan was looking at Mt. Ember. There was a strange look on his face, the kind that was only seen when he was scheming.

"What are you plotting?" said Chaud, noticing this. Lan grinned and leaned closer, lowering his voice.

"I say we dump mister crazy nose and go up Mt. Ember. Look- from here you can see a cave entrance."

"How will you pull that off?" said Chaud.

"I can take care of that," whispered Maylu. Lan hesitated, then smiled.

"Yeah, let's do this!"

"What? Didn't catch that," Raika said dryly.

"Er... Let's keep looking! He's bound to turn up somewhere!" said Lan. Raika turned away. Maylu took out a pokeball. Whatever pokemon had been inside now vanished into the bushes. They walked a little farther, and then it happened. A giant flaming bird swooped down out of nowhere.

"Molters!" Brock cried. They hurried out of the way as it breathed fire.

"Now!" said Maylu. Chaud seized Mary's wrist and dragged her along with them as they ran towards Mt. Ember.

"Capture on!" came a shout. Lan swore and sped up. Megaman and the others (especially Protoman) were having a hard time with the pace. The ground beneath them shifted, and exploded. With a yelp, the humans fell.

Megaman skidded to a halt right at the edge. Elecman and Roll crashed into him, but he managed to stay up. Ring almost toppled in, but scurried back up. Protoman was the last to arrive.

"Why couldn't this thing..." (pant pant) "...have longer legs?" The four who'd fallen were recovering.

"Odd. I feel as if this has happened before..." said Chaud.

"What the heck was that?" said Maylu.

"That," said Raika, peering down at them, "Is what happens when you try to disobey a Ranger's orders." Ash and the others gaped at the hole. Lan, Maylu, Chaud, and Mary climbed out. "Nice try, by the way. Your ditto was impressive," said Raika, tossing what looked like a large amount of pink clay. Maylu caught it.

"Thanks a lot, Ditto. Return," she said. Chaud's attention was on something else.

"Geodude," he said, indicating a rather large rock with eyes and arms.

"Hey, where's Megaman?" said Lan. Everyone looked around. The vaporeon was nowhere to be seen; nor were the other pokemon whose trainers had fallen into the hole.

"Megaman? Megaman, this isn't funny!" said Lan.

"Over there!" said Mary, pointing. Megaman and the others were headed at full tilt towards Mt. Ember. Everyone glanced at Raika, who thought for a moment.

"Well, I am responsible for all of you..." he sighed. Searchman flew after the pokemon, while the humans followed on foot. As he grew level with Megaman, he asked, "Where are you going in such a hurry?"

"There's no mistaking it, I heard him!" said Megaman. They ran all the way to the cave Lan had pointed out. Megaman was the first one in. There was a loud crack and he saw stars. Gradually, those stars were swallowed up by the night.


	12. Chapter 12

Someone was swearing. Pokemon were squealing.

"Why did you do that?"

"You've killed Megaman!"

"If you think he's dead, you don't know him as well as you think."

Megaman opened his eyes.

"Eh...?"

"See?"

"Megaman!" said Roll. Megaman blinked at his attacker.

"Tomahawkman?" he said. The marowak nodded. Alongside it were a cyndaquil, swellow, lairon, linoone, and ivysaur. Megaman, of course, had no idea what they were called and simply took them as more pokemon. The vaporeon jumped to his feet and said, "T-Tomahawkman, you're okay! What happened?"

"I'm still not too sure," said Tomahawkman, shaking his head.

"Describe it," said Ring. Tomahawkman thought for a moment, then sighed.

"We were poking around in some caves, looking for the 'super pokemon,' and had the bad luck to run right into it. The thing is, this super pokemon isn't a pokemon at all- it's a NetNavi. I panicked because it looked angry enough to kill. Dingo decided to be an idiot and got spotted, the Navi got him. Dingo took a picture and released these pokemon, then he and the Navi vanished."

"They just disappeared?" said Roll.

"Yeah. 'Poof,' and they're gone," said Tomahawkman.

"So, you don't know where he is either..." said Megaman.

"have you heard anything about passwords?" Protoman interrupted.

"No, why?" said Tomahawkman.

"So far we've got 'Netto,' 'Laika,' and 'Blues.' All three slip out by accident, and all of them have a strange effect on the NetOps," said Megaman.

"Chaud remembered that Blues was a password of some kind," said Protoman.

"Did he remember anything else?" said Tomahawkman, sounding excited.

"Someone keeps interfering with his memory, so no," said Protoman. Tomahawkman sighed in defeat.

"Well, at least we know Isomething.../I" The NetOps finally arrived on the scene at this point.

"Megaman, that wasn't funny!" Lan panted.

"Sorry," said Megaman. Lan caught sight of the other pokemon.

"Hey, everybody, look! It's Tomahawkman and the rest of Dingo's pokemon!"

"So it is," said Chaud. Raika knelt down in front of Tomahawkman.

"Can you lead us to Dingo?" The marowak shook his head. "So you don't know where he is." Nod, nod.

"But he was here," said Lan. Raika nodded.

"Let's take them back to the Pokemon Center," he said. Chaud let out the dragon pokemon. Syndical, Lairon, Linoone, and Ivysaur were balanced on Charizard and Salmence. The trainers got on too (there was a scuffle in which Chaud kicked Lan off of Kazul and the two boys began to argue. During that time the flygon attacked and Lan got a nasty bite on the forearm).

Lan ended up being seized by Swellow and lifted into the air. Megaman was carried by Maylu's butterfree. Throughout the fly back, he had his eyes tightly closed.

The NetOps and Navis sat in a circle, in the middle of which sat a copy of Dingo's photograph. They had taken up a large room full of bunk-beds as soon as they had returned to the One Island Pokemon Center, and assumed this position almost immediately. Raika and Searchman were no longer with them, having chosen to check in with the Rangers instead.

"Hmmm..." said Lan, cradling his injured arm as he thought. "So, who has any idea where Dingo is?"

"No clue," said Misty.

"We could always try the Berry Forest. Maddy says that place is haunted by strange pokemon," said Mary (Megaman suppressed a shudder at the thought).

"Or maybe someplace like Seavault Canyon or Altering Cave," suggested Maylu.

"The Sevii Islands are well known for their strange pokemon and hidden areas," said Brock. "It'll take a lifetime if we just walk around looking for him."

"Too true," said Lan.

"It would be a lot easier if we could get that Ranger to help us," said Chaud.

"No way, we should just leave that guy," said Lan.

"Face it. Raika knows these islands better than any of us, and probably has more knowledge of pokemon habits, movements, and maybe even more importantly, the legends surrounding these areas. Remember, Lewis and Clark had a guide..."

"Lewis and Clark? What in the world are you talking about?" said Lan. A debate began over whether or not they should ask for Raika's help. Tomahawkman quickly grew bored of this and rapped the ground with his bone.

"Moving on," Chaud said loudly. "What about this pokemon? If we find it, we'll most likely find Dingo as well."

"Team Rocket was after it," said Mary.

"Something tells me that it wouldn't be easily caught," said Brock.

"Why do you say that?" said Ash. Everyone turned to stare curiously at him.

"I was interested when Dingo said it attacked Little Root Town, so I did some investigating and found some pictures and articles." Everyone waited for more, but Brock seemed satisfied with just that.

"Well?" Ash and Lan said in unison. Brock jumped.

"Oh. Well, the damage was devastating. It looked like the place had been attacked by a large group of high-level pokemon, but witnesses reported only one pokemon," said Brock.

"Wow..." said Ash.

"Hey Tomahawkman, can you try to tell us what it looked like?" said Lan. Tomahawkman glanced at his fellow pokemon for help.

Linoone stood on its hind legs and began to wiggle, making odd, foreboding noises. Swellow perched on its head and spread its wings.

"Uh-huh..." said Lan, trying and failing to look like he understood.

"It was tall! Taller than you, and it had red eyes and something blue on its head!" cried Tomahawkman, trying to relay this to the humans.

"Tall?" Megaman echoed. Of course, the trainers were getting none of this.

"Could you determine what type the pokemon was?" said Chaud, glancing at Brock.

"Well, I think Dingo mentioned that he thought it was a dark type," said Brock.

"Well, this pokemon has turned up in caves so far. Mt. Moon, and now that one in Mt. Ember," said Ash. "I think we should try another cave."

"I'd suggest Seavault Canyon and Altering Cave, then," said Misty.

"No pokemon has ever been seen in the caves in Seavault Canyon. The only sighting was Pride's supposed Unknown. I think we should investigate Altering Cave first," said Maylu.

"But dark type is close to ghost type, right? I think we should go to the Berry Forest," said Lan.

"Noooooooooooooo!" Megaman yowled. He scampered to a desk at the far side of the room and just barely fit under it. Everyone stared at the shuddering workstation.

"I think that's a 'no,'" Ash said after a while.

"Altering Cave it is," said Misty.

Chaud won the argument. So, Lan sulked while the older boy went to ask Raika for help. Surprisingly, Raika agreed without question. Searchman informed the other Navis that this was because his NetOp was still curious about Lan's slip-up two days ago. Either way, they set out for Six Island first thing the next day.

After arriving in Six Island's port and waving back at Kurohige, the group set off. Raika led them out of town, and they stood at the edge of the land.

"I don't get it. Isn't Altering Cave somewhere around here?" said Lan, looking around.

"It's a lot farther north, past the Pattern Bush. It's on Outcast Island," said Raika.

"In other words, we fly," said Chaud, releasing the dragons again. This time, the Navis were placed in their pokeballs for the flight. Megaman watched from the little orb as they flew over another, smaller island, and above the water again, following what seemed to be a path formed by the rocks sticking out of the ocean's surface.

The dragon pokemon alighted on a tiny beach full of rock. Megaman exited the pokeball and trotted around in the sand while the trainers gathered.

"That's Altering Cave," said Raika, pointing. The spot indicated was a tiny hole. Megaman seriously doubted that all of the trainers could get through. Even Lan and Ash, some of the smallest in the group, probably wouldn't fit. Ash shared this view.

"That's tiny!" he exclaimed, running over and waving his arms to stress the fact.

"The people who enter Altering Cave are usually children," said Raika.

"None of us are that small," said Misty.

"Mary might be able to get through," said Chaud.

"W-what?" Mary squeaked.

"You're smaller than any of us," he explained.

"B-but, I know I can't fit in a hole that small!" she argued. Tomahawkman beckoned Linoone over to him. He winked at the other Navis when they looked skeptical.

"Relax, guys. Linoone here actually understands me. She's smart for a raccoon... looking... thing... Anyway. Linoone, do you think you could help me out with this?" he said. Linoone (albeit a bit upset over his description) nodded and chattered to Lairon. They and the Marowak headed over to the cave entrance and began to chip away at the sides.

"Good thinking," said Ash.

"I think this is good enough," Tomahawkman said after a while, backing away to inspect their work.

"yeah. Mary can definitely fit in there," said Ring. The trainers were thinking the same thing, and were looking at Mary again. The girl blushed darker and seemed to curl up a little.

"Okay, I'll go in," she said.

"Good. Just check whether Dingo is in there, then get out fast," said Raika. Mary nodded, and went over to the cave. She wriggled through and vanished from sight. The others held their breath as they waited for a report.

"Um... I can't see anything," she said uneasily. "Ring?"

"Coming!" said Ring, hurrying into the opening.

"Flash!" Light streamed from the hole. Megaman and the others peered through. WOW. This was disappointing. Mary and Ring were standing awkwardly in the middle of a small cave full of annoyed, little blue bats. That was all.

"Bummer. I thought he'd be here for sure," said Maylu.

"Berry Forest!" said Lan. Megaman shot him a glare. There was a beeping sound, and all of them turned to look at Raika. He took out a small communication device.

"This is Raika," he said.

"Good," said a tinny voice. "We want you to hurry over to Three Island. A little girl has gone missing, and witnesses say they saw a strange pokemon in the area."

"Right," said Raika. He put away the device.

"So, we're going to Three Island?" said Brock.

"Berry Forest. That's the only place a strange pokemon could hide on that island," said Raika.

"Victory!" Lan hissed under his breath.

"Please don't let there be ghosts..." Megaman moaned.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: The Navi in Berry Forest

BERRY FOREST AHEAD. Bbeware of wild, berry-loving pokemon/B

Megaman's eyes rested on that sign for about three seconds before returning to Lan's face in a silent plea to Inot go in there./I Lan, however, looked very enthusiastic.

"Awesome! So, we'll find the super pokemon, and rescue two people at the same time!" he said.

"There's no guarantee it's in there, you know," said Chaud.

"It's the Berry Forest! They've got to be in there!" said Lan.

"Chaud's right. Hey, how about we go back and look at the Seavault Canyons instead?" Megaman asked hopefully. Lan interpreted this completely the wrong way.

"See? Even Megaman agrees! Let's go!" He took off into the trees, a whooping Ash right on his heels.

"I pity you," said Elecman.

"I pity myself..." Megaman moaned, lolloping after his NetOp. The others followed slower, and Raika called, "Calm down, you two! Stay with the group or you'll get lost!"

The pair reluctantly slowed down.

About three hours later, night was falling. They had all gathered around a tiny lantern Raika had brought, huddling together in an effort to shake off the sudden chill. Chaud and Protoman were the only ones who didn't seem cold. Megaman found himself wishing he was a flareon instead. That fur came in handy on a night like this.

"So..." said Ash. "What will we do when we find it? The super pokemon, that is."

"I don't think we'll stand a chance against it. Grab Dingo and the girl and run, that's my plan," said Brock.

"No way! Megaman and I can beat anyone, anything, anywhere!" cried Lan.

"Glad to see your NetOp's enthusiastic," said Protoman. Roll giggled at the look on Megaman's face. Raika raised one arm, and they all fell silent.

"What's wrong?" Misty said after a while.

"Listen," said Raika. The fins on either side of Megaman's head perked up as he heard it: tiny, hurried footsteps, coming their way. Chaud had his hand on Charizard's pokeball, and everyone had tensed up. The footsteps stopped, and the forest was quiet. The lantern-light flickered eerily over their features.

With a bloodcurdling cry, and something white flew out of the bushes. Megaman gave a very undignified little shriek and attempted to bolt, only to be caught around the middle by Lan. Pikachu was wailing, Protoman was snarling, and the humans were trying to figure out what in the world had hurtled into camp.

Without thinking, Elecman jumped forward and seized the creature with his teeth and claws. The noise died down. The white thing was shaking almost as badly as they. Then, soft laughter reached their ears.

"W-what...?" Mary said weakly. Elecman finally grasped the situation and tugged. The white sheet fell to the ground, revealing a tiny yellow pokemon laughing its head off. Ash held up his pokedex.

"Pichu, the tiny mouse pokemon. Pichu is still inept at retaining electricity. When it is startled, it discharges power accidently. It gets better at holding power as it grows older."

"What was that for? You scared us half to death!" said Ring. The Pichu continued to laugh, but choked out, "M-Megaman looked funny!"

Megaman felt a blush of embarrassment rise to his face, and was thankful that the blue covered it up.

"T-Trill?" he said incredulously.

"Yep! I came in because I was bored," he replied.

"Come in? Come in where? How?" said Elecman, spitting out the sheet.

"The big ball!" said Trill.

"Trill, this is really important. How did you get in?" said Megaman.

"Trill flew in! It was easy!"

"Can you fly out?"

"I don't know. Kitty might, though," said Trill.

"Kitty?" Roll repeated.

"Take us to it!" cried Tomahawkman.

"Okay!" said Trill. he scampered off, with the Navis close behind. The humans scrambled to their feet and followed. Trill led them to a clearing, where two figures lay.

"Dingo!" cried Tomahawkman. He ran to his NetOp and shook him in an attempt to wake him up. This movement disturbed the Meowth beside him, who yawned and said, "IMeowth/I... What do you think you're doing, moving my pillow?"

"GET OFF MY NETOP, FURBALL!" The humans arrived on the scene.

"You!" cried Ash, pointing accusingly at the cat. Meowth jumped, suddenly wide awake.

"Yipe! The twerps!"

"You're Team Rocket's pet cat, aren't you?" said Megaman.

"I'm not their pet! I'm a coworker," said Meowth. Chaud stared at it, then glanced at Raika.

"Are talking pokemon common around here?"

"Don't ask me, I've never seen one before now..."

"You speak human?" said Protoman, obviously intrigued.

"What are you, deaf?" meowth hissed. Lan knelt down next to Dingo while Ash yelled at the Meowth.

"What are you guys up to this time?"

"Hey, don't look at me! I can't find Jessie or James anywhere!"

"Where's the girl?" said Brock.

"Eh?" said Meowth.

"The report said that a pokemon kidnapped a small child from the area around Bond Bridge," said Raika.

"I'm not a little girl!" Meowth yowled, doing a little dance of frustration.

"So you've seen the super pokemon?" said Lan.

"Well, I don't know about pokemon, but homicidal maniac..." Meowth trailed off, looking up at the sky. Out of the darkness descended a NetNavi (in a way that was very Mewtwo-esque). Its feet touched the ground and it considered them for a moment, red eyes glowing.

"Hi, fishy!" said Trill. The navi replied in a calm voice that was laced with malice.

"I am not a ****ing fish."

"Bass!" cried the other Navis. Bass responded by throwing them a death glare. The NetOps merely stared.

"Um. Hi..." said Lan. "Is there a reason you're out here dressed like that?"

Bass blinked.

"Are you a complete idiot?"

"No, I was just wondering..." The start of an Earthbreaker was beginning to crackle in Bass' fist.

"Woah, woah, woah, calm down!" cried Ring, jumping in his way. "Let's just figure out what's going on."

"Meowth, can you tell the... 'trainers' to wait for a minute? We're trying to figure out what's going on," said Megaman. Meowth nodded and turned back to the humans.

"Your Vaporeon says to shut your trap, we're trying to figure out what's going on."

"You could've said it nicely..."

"My patience is growing thin. Speak, if that's why you're here," said Bass.

"Bass, why are you normal?" said Ring.

"I bet he was turned into a Ditto..." said Roll.

"I'm not so weak that I would allow this to change me," said Bass.

"You know what this place is, don't you?" said Protoman.

"Yeah, tell us!" said Megaman. Bass was silent for a while, then allowed a sadistic grin to steal over his face.

"...No."

"What? Why not?" said Elecman.

"I'm in a good mood today, so I won't delete you. On the other hand I'm rather bored. It'll be fun to watch you struggle."

"Okay, I Ireally/I don't like this guy," said Tomahawkman.

"But why did you kidnap Dingo and Meowth?" said Megaman.

"They gave me the information I needed. Finished yet?"

"No, I... Hey! Wait!" Deaf to their cries, Bass was rising again. Megaman knew for a fact that no pleas would bring him back, so went for a different approach.

"Yeah, you better run, fish-boy!" he screeched. He was pretty sure that he saw Bass' eye twitch a few times, but it didn't change anything. Within a few moments, the Messenger of Darkness was gone.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14: To Find a Bass

As it turned out, Dingo didn't remember anything when he woke up. Sure, his memory was intact until Bass actually touched him, but what information the Navi had gotten remained unknown. Dingo was not pleased. Actually, he'd taken to bombarding Meowth with questions about Bass. The Messenger of Darkness had not deemed Meowth smart enough to understand any of his latest plan, so had left the pokemon awake. Meowth was really regretting it. In fact, Dingo was Istill/I at it when they got back to One Island's Pokemon Center. Raika took pity on poor Meowth and brought Dingo with him to report to the Rangers. Ash and the others reluctantly accepted Meowth into their group.

Megaman and the Navis sat on the floor with the talking pokemon, and the NetOps quietly watched over them. Meowth had almost been as silent, but interrrupted every once in a while to ask what was what or why they thought something. Megaman imagined that these little insights into their conversation only confused the NetOps even more.

"Okay, my idea is officially blown out of the water," said Megaman.

"Which idea is this?" said Meowth.

"The one where this is a classic video game. Beat the boss and you can go home... But our 'boss' turned out to be Bass," said Megaman.

"Fishy!" Trill interjected.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you want to call him..." Ring grumbled.

"Anyway, it seems that Bass isn't the villain this time at all. We've been chasing after a false lead," Megaman sighed.

"We're back to where we started, then," said Roll.

"I still don't get it," said Meowth, shaking its head. "You're all... little people that are supposed to live in computers. I've never heard of most of the techno-stuff you're talking about, the PETs and the fighting chips and all... How did you become Pokemon?"

"We don't know, ourselves. I think Bass figured out what's going on, that's why he was so smug," said Ring.

"Fishy!"

"...Yeah."

"You think that some bad guys did this, right? So, what did you do to get them angry at you?" said Meowth.

"We're like a branch of the police," said Protoman. Immediately, Meowth's fur went on end and it backed up quickly.

"P-p-police?"

"No more of the p-word, then, guys," said Megaman, glancing around at the others. They all nodded.

"But he brings up a good point," said Roll. "I know that Mary and Ring aren't NetSavers, and neither are Tora and Kingman. I'm not really sure about Tamako and HeavyMetalMan, though... Still, whoever is behind this doesn't have a grudge against NetSavers. It's more like they're out to get Megaman."

"Me?" said Megaman.

"Of course, you!" said Tomahawkman. "Haven't you saved the cyberworld like, a dozen times before? Maybe one of your old enemies came back for revenge."

"Zoanroids?" Roll guessed.

"I don't know!" said Megaman. He rested his head on his paws, ear-fins drooping as he thought. "If only Bass had given us some clues..."

"Fishy!" cried Trill.

"...Okay, Trill, I think we get it," said Ring. Trill pouted. Protoman suddenly straightened up and eyed Trill with newfound interest.

"What about Fishy, Trill?" he asked. In response, Trill reached behind his big ears and pulled out a small square. All of the pokemon leaned in close.

"...Nice one, kid. You can pull poke-block out of your ears..." Meowth was saying, but it quickly stopped. The cube was Imoving/I. "What is that thing?"

"Is that a virus?" said Megaman, intrigued.

"Trill caught it!" the Pichu laughed, tossing it into the air. Within seconds, the little shape had unfolded into something that looked like an Ivysaur. The NetOps were seriously weirded out now.

"What is that?" said Misty, echoing Meowth's earlier question.

"Guys, I think that Iis/I a virus," said Megaman.

"Mr. Virus will lead us to Fishy!" said Trill, clapping his paws together excitedly. "Trill did good?"

"Very good, Trill!" said Megaman.

The virus eyed them for a second before scuttling away. The Navis yelped and chased after it, with the NetOps hard on their heels.

"Megaman!"

"Protoman!"

"Roll, come back!"

Raika and Dingo were just leaving Ranger Headquarters when the group rushed past them. They stood there for a total of five seconds before Dingo realized what was going on.

"H-hey! Tomahawkman!" And he ran after them too. Raika glanced from the building to the runners, and back again, before rolling his eyes, making an irritated noise, and following.

Upon arriving at the mainland, they were too dazed and windswept to keep track of the virus. Unfortunately, it got away. So, they were stranded with a scolding Raika and a very confused Meowth. No one was exactly happy. Megaman waited around while the others tried to figure out what was going on. Once Meowth finally made it clear that they needed to find the fake Ivysaur, they pulled out a map (Chaud and Lan glaring at each other over it- they seemed to blame each other for what was happening). At last, it was decided that they go east. West was towards Cycling Road, and no pokemon seriously liked that place. It was too easy to be run over.

So, they were leaving the city limits when they spotted something in the bushes. They all froze as the thing emerged. It was a small, blue, doglike creature that stood on its hind paws and watched them with wide red eyes.

"Riolu. The aura that emanates from its body intensifies to alert others if it is afraid or sad," said Lan's pokedex.

"Megaman?" it said, and the others stared.

"You're a Navi!" said Roll.

"One of you freaky computer twerps?" said Meowth.

"Yes, I'm a Navi. My name is Arora," said the Riolu, bowing slightly. "You helped me once, Megaman. I'm not sure if you remember it or not, but still... I'd like to help you now."

"Help would be appreciated," said Ring, before Megaman could say anything.

Arora smiled, and pulled some bushes away, revealing a cave mouth. The NetOps were dumbfounded. Megaman looked back at her and asked, "Where does this go?"

"It leads to a place near the Viridian Forest. I saw Bass there, and I can only imagine that you're following him," said Arora.

"Oh, thank you!" cried Roll. "Thank you so much!"

Arora smiled again, and they all followed her (NetOps and trainers a bit hesitantly) into the cave.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Passwords

The walk didn't really take long. It felt as if it took forever, but according to Brock's watch, it took no longer than 20 minutes. Either way, all were relieved when they finally reached the end.

"I think I'll have to leave you here," said Arora, stopping. "I wish you all luck."

"Thanks," said Megaman. The other pokemon nodded their heads in agreement. Aroroa smiled again, and disappeared back into the cave.

"Sunlight!" cried Lan, running out into the open.

"You mean 'moonlight,' right?" said Chaud, rolling his eyes. Lan glared at him.

"No more fighting, you two. It got old a while ago," Raika growled.

"Besides, we've got to find this Bass character first," said Meowth.

"I think we should go check out the Viridian Forest. Pokemon like to swarm there," said Dingo.

"Better than nothing," said Tomahawkman.

"In that case, we just need to go a little further down this path. It'll lead us into the forest," said Brock.

"Good plan. Let's go, everybody!" said Ash. He took the lead as they made their way down the road.

The Viridian Forest was thick with trees, and covered in a strange gloom, made worse now that it was night. The grass was overgrown, the path obscured. The wind made a moaning noise as it swept through the trees. The group stayed close together, searching for anything.

"I don't like this," Brock muttered after a while.

"You don't like what?" said Misty.

"There aren't any bug pokemon here," he said, sweeping a hand towards the trees. True to his word, there was no sign of life.

"Well, good riddance. Bugs are nasty," said Misty.

"I wouldn't be so quick to judge that," said Brock.

"This way we know a swarm of angry Beedrill aren't going to come and kill us."

"We simply know that whatever it is is worse than Beedrill," said Raika. They all stared as he continued, "If the bug pokemon have vanished... either Team Rocket is on a catching spree, or they're all in hiding. I'm betting it's the latter."

"Bug pokemon have even stood up to my Charizard before," Ash said uncertainly.

"If they're as stubborn as you say, there must be something Ireally/I scary in here..." said Meowth, walking closer to the trainers.

"Bass," Megaman murmured.

Suddenly, there was a snapping sound, followed by a roar. Everyone jumped and staggered backwards as a pokemon lunged out at them.

"Absol, the disaster pokemon. It senses coming disasters and appears before people only to warn them of impending danger," chirped a PokeDex.

The great white creature roared again and tossed its head. A gust swept through, tearing down tree limbs and knocking the trainers over backward. Megaman stood his ground. Once the wind was gone, he leaped forward to attack. The Absol easily evaded it, only to swipe at him with the horn on its head.

"What did you do to me?"

Megaman's eyes widened, and he backed up to get a better look at the thing. Now that he was looking for it, he recognized the manic gleam in its crimson eyes.

"Bass? Is that you?"

"Of course it's me, you gnat! Now what did you do?"

"We didn't do anything!" said Megaman.

"Nonsense! I'm too powerful for these fragments to change!" Bass hissed.

"Fragments?" said Megaman, finally stopping. Bass stopped as well, still glowering. "What do you mean by fragments?" Bass eyed him critically. He seemed to be trying to figure out how much to tell them.

"Despite what you see around you, we are still in the Cyber World. We are, in fact, in a kind of mini-world created by the data fragments left over from an old game."

"So... I was right in a way. We have to defeat a boss to get out?" said Megaman.

"You really are a goody two-shoes. What do you keep hearing?" said Bass.

"The names?" said Megaman.

"Not names," said Bass.

"Passwords," said Protoman, glancing at Chaud.

"But for a game... Cheat codes?" said Ring.

"Bingo." Fangs were bared in a smirk.

"But we've been saying them over and over again! Surely they would've worked by now?" said Roll.

"Perhaps you have to input them in a certain area?" said Megaman, watching Bass closely. Judging by the chuckle, he was right.

"Meowth!" said Tomahawkman. "Where do you go to win the game? To win at something really important?"

"W-well, to be a pokemon master, you've got to beat the Elite Four and become the champion..." said the pokemon.

"Where's the Elite Four?" said Elecman.

"Indigo Plateau."

"Then that's where we need to go. Tell the trainers, please!" And Meowth, looking thoroughly confused, relayed the message. The trainers glanced at each other.

"Might as well, I suppose..." said Chaud.

"Yeah. Let's go!" said Lan. In no time at all, they had taken flight. They were soaring over Viridian City when disaster struck. It struck in the form of a Meowth-shaped hot air balloon. With an ominous crash of lightning, two figures appeared, cackling.

"Prepare for trouble!"

"Make it double!"

"It's Jessie and James!" cried Meowth.

"You again!" said Ash.

"Yes, it's us! We're here to rescue Meowth and take your Pikachu as well!" said James.

"There's really no use fighting us about it, either," said Jessie. It was at this point that Meowth snatched Pikachu off of Ash's shoulder and sprang for the balloon. Its claws caught on the basket, and James helped to heave it up. Jessie, meanwhile, took Pikachu and crammed it into a yellow container. It made a loud squeal of offense.

"Hahahaha! See, we've got your precious Pikachu now! We'll just take it and go."

"Oh no you don't! Megaman, aurora beam!" said Lan. Megaman sprang forward.

"Forget it!" screeched Bass, from the ground. "It's just a stupid fragment! it's not real!"

"What, so that means Iwe're/I not real?" Megaman snapped. Bass scowled, but didn't argue that one. Megaman turned his attention back to Team Rocket.

Jessie and James immediately panicked.

"Quickly, James! Get this thing going!" said Jessie. James hurriedly pressed some buttons on a control pad. The balloon popped. With a shriek, they all fell.

"Pikachu!" cried Ash.

Bass bounded out of the way as the basket hit the ground. The remains of the balloon settled over it. The Absol perched on an outcropping of rock. He was startled, though, when the thing beneath began to move. Gradually the balloon was thrown out of the way, to reveal another robot, much like the one they'd faced at Mt. Moon. This time, though, Team Rocket wasn't going to stick around. The robot hurtled away.

"After them!" said Misty, and the dragons gave chase. Megaman had gotten a glimpse of the map earlier, and judging by the direction they were going... they seemed to be going on the same course they'd been on earlier.

The robot bounced over ledges and rolled over hills, dragons flying above it and Bass following on the ground. No one seemed to notice the building at first, but Team Rocket finally did, just in time to swerve to avoid it. Now the robot was going alongside it.

"Hyper Beam!" Chaud ordered. The Flygon opened its mouth, and light shot out. There were three cries of pain, and a cloud of dust erupted. From it, Team Rocket appeared, flying through the air.

"We're blasting off again!"

The yellow container also went flying, but somehow Ash managed to catch it and open it. Pikachu popped out, hopping back onto his shoulder with a happy squeak. As the dust settled, they realized that the attack had torn a hole right through the building's wall. The dragons landed.

"Hello?" said Chaud, running to the opening. "Is anyone hurt?" Silence greeted him. The others drew closer to peer inside.

"Wow... Only champions are allowed in this room," said Lan, voice hushed as if it was a holy place.

"Then this is where we need to be," said Megaman. He entered the room, ignoring the muffled noises of surprise. Eventually, the others began to filter in, searching for anything interesting. Even Bass made his way in, claws clacking on the tile floors.

"It's so dark..." said Ash.

"Pika." said Pikachu. It hid its head under Ash's hat.

"Megaman! Megaman! Trill found something!"

"You did?" said Megaman. He trotted over to the place Trill stood, next to Bass.

"This is the right thing, right Fishy?" said Trill. Bass grunted. Megaman put his front paws up on the little platform to see the thing clearly. It appeared to be a computer, with a keypad. On the screen were three text boxes.

"I think this is it," he said. "Everybody, what are the codes?"

"Netto," said Roll.

"Laika," said Searchman.

"Blues," said Protoman.

With difficulty, Megaman managed to type them all in and hit the enter key. The computer whirred. The screen began to glow blue...


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16: The End

It had been two weeks. Two weeks since the NetOps and Navis had managed to leave the fragment world. All of the ones affected had now been gathered at the labs, and were sitting in a meeting room. The abnormally large screen before them showed a strange ball of glowing blue data.

"So, 'Pokemon' was the name of a game. A video game, a card game, an online game... even a TV show," said Maylu.

"The first wave of modern viruses were the ones who corrupted the files," Chaud said calmly, typing away on a laptop. "They grew and multiplied, and attached themselves to various data linked to it."

"All of the data was infected. Any computer with the data instantly crashed. People had to delete all of it they could find to get the net working properly again," said Raika.

"The data they couldn't get their hands on converged and melded together. Ash was from the anime. The maps and items were from the game. I think you get the point," said Chaud.

"It was all just renegade data, and we were lost enough to stumble upon it."

"Those files are still corrupted," said Megaman, prompting Lan to pull out his PET and set it on the table. The little hologram navi appeared, Trill at his side. On the other side, Protoman appeared as well.

"The viruses didn't affect the Navis, as we are programmed to be immune. A virus can kill us, but it cannot corrupt our coding. Humans, on the other hand, are not so lucky."

"That's why you NetOps couldn't remember the real world, or the cheat codes for very long. The virus was messing with your minds," said Megaman.

"Yeah, but it all seemed so real!" said Lan, propping his head in his hands. "Ash and everyone..." Megaman nodded.

"Yeah... but I suppose that we'll just have to accept... that they were only corrupted data..."

"...And then they just disappeared. It was like they'd never existed!"

"What do you think, Professor?"

Professor Oak made a humming sound, deep in thought. The three young pokemon trainers sat on the couch, watching him intently.

"It seems to me... that the ones you saw live in electronic space. How else could they vanish into a computer? Perhaps they are some sort of variation on Porygon. Porygons live in cyberspace, after all, and their evolutions are meant to work in different dimensions!"

"But they looked like normal people and pokemon!" said Ash.

"You forget that a Ditto can change its shape to any it pleases. Who's to say that there isn't a shape-changing pokemon in cyberspace? That there isn't a new form of Porygon or Ditto? The key to pokemon research is to keep your mind open to new things," said Oak.

"So you're saying we might've discovered an entire new race of pokemon?" said Brock.

"It would seem that way," said Oak.

The three trainers looked at each other in wonder. Pikachu simply sat in Ash's lap and smiled. It had known from the start that the others weren't normal.


End file.
